Hit by a car while he was riding his inseparable bicycle.
An accident that took away a piece of the history of Parma sport and extinguished the smile of Franco Del Chicca, «Franchino» for all those who were lucky enough to know him. A life dedicated to sport and to young people who he often accompanied from their first steps to their triumphs. Volleyball marked his life and it couldn’t have been different even with that huge surname weighing on his shoulders. Being called Del Chicca, contrary to what one might think, has influenced him for a long time. He felt, even if he wasn’t obsessed with it, the responsibility of his surname.
His father Renzo, in addition to being one of the fathers of Italian volleyball, had influenced generations of young people, also and above all from an educational point of view. As a player, Franco had managed to join the group that would form the “championship” squad that showcased the unforgettable trio Scotti, Roncoroni, De Angelis. The coach was Renzo Del Chicca who, precisely in order not to fuel any rumors of favoritism, perhaps allowed him to give less than his technical possibilities, as Luigi Roncoroni one of the champions among his former teammates points out: « With Franco he leaves us a standard bearer of the history of Parma volleyball who he lived through as a player, coach and manager. Being the son of the great Renzo, to whom my entire generation owes so much in the educational and sporting fields, and having him as a coach, had created a situation that was not easy to sustain and which certainly had not helped him despite never having influenced his inclusion in the group . Like his father, he was an educational example, representing the continuity of the Parma volleyball school and for this we must all be grateful to him.”
Volleyball had always been present even when, not yet graduating from ISEF, he had undertaken the path of teaching. Shaping young people in the culture of sport but without ever losing sight of the talent of those who, among the hundreds of students, had the talent to emerge.
Antonio Bonini, one of the most important players of his generation, an Olympian in Moscow, was his first discovery. Alongside teaching he has never neglected his passion for coaching. Many teams that he led looked with the same attention at potential champions and those who would never have known the big audiences.
He was labeled as an “enthusiast”: anyone who approached volleyball would never forget it. And champions have also emerged from his youth teams, first and foremost Alessandro Farini. Top-notch managers and coaches grew up at his school: above all Roberto Piazza who learned the news in Manila where he is leading the Dutch national team and is playing in the pre-Olympic tournament. «It is a moment of enormous sadness. I owe a lot to Franco, he changed my life” he declared.
Franco Del Chicca’s enthusiasm was contagious: Bebeto, one of the greatest world coaches of all time, during his period in Parma at the helm of Maxicono, was often seen overlooking the fields of the gyms in via Pintor, to understand how « Franchino” managed to convey so much enthusiasm.
Even established champions were fascinated by his temperament. «When I arrived in Parma – recalls Gianni Lanfranco – as a European champion and Italian champion from Turin, I remember well the first meeting with Franco Del Chicca: joking, ironic, but who immediately commanded great respect, a special person».
His great worry was linked to the impossibility of having been able to demonstrate his technical skills even at a high level. At the helm of the “home-made” Cavalieri team, he had played in a C1 series championship but it was his only experience in a national tournament. He struggled to understand why no one had remembered him to offer him the chance to evaluate himself in the top flight, convinced that he could have had his say.
We didn’t remember him in the top choices but we will remember his way of being, his ability to make himself loved and his shadow will lengthen in the many gyms in which he spent his life.
