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OBITUARY: Gianluca Vialli was football's 'Lion King'

Related Topics: Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Mancini

Gianluca Vialli has stopped suffering and the world of Italian and international football has opened its eyes and realised it has become poorer without its 'Lion King'.

Vialli, who has died aged 58, was a footballing popstar. One of the few men to hold the role of player-manager at a top club during his time with Chelsea.

If we wanted to summarise Vialli's career we could do it with that heartwarming hug after the victory in the 2021 European Championship final - in that embrace with Roberto Mancini there was love and friendship between two brothers of different mothers who lived a huge slice of their life together.