Marco Nosotti recounted the last moments of his wife Silvia who died during the European Championships, and in particular Italy-Spain. A poignant interview.
Marco Nosotti has seen a lot in the world of football. The 2024 European Championships, however, are something else, an event that the popular Sky journalist will never forget. During the continental event, in fact, his wife Silvia died after a long illness. An exemplary professional, Nosotti, returned to work in Germany immediately, also to avoid “sinking”. This and more was told by the reporter in a heartbreaking interview in which he revealed how his wife died during the national anthems of Italy and Spain.
Marco Nosotti and the death of his wife during Italy-Spain of the European Championships
It all started during the other European Championships, the ones won by Italy in 2021: “It all started at the end of the other European championships, the ones that Italy won – she says in the interview with Corriere.it – I returned home, to Formigine, near Modena, and she told me that the tests showed that she was suffering from leiomyosarcoma, a soft tissue tumor. He told me “now let’s remove everything and see what happens”. Unfortunately there was a recurrence and he came back. From there, his battle, our battle, began. We experienced what all people, couples and families who have to deal with serious illnesses experience.”
Already on June 20, the day of the long-awaited match between Italy and Spain. Nosotti relived those painful moments: “It was the evening of Italy Spain, and we were getting ready to watch it together, pretending that everything was normal. That evening, before the match began, Federica Masolin, from the studio, sent me a hug, closing the broadcast. My son suggested that I tell his mother, but as the national anthems began Silvia passed away“.
Marco Nosotti reveals Spalletti’s beautiful words after his mourning: “Not coach and journalist, but two men”
Nosotti relives the last moments, the infinite love of the family
It’s impossible not to be moved by the story of the last farewell: “I remember that shortly before, between one injection and another, his gaze became alive and present again. She almost called me to her. She couldn’t speak, but she did it with her eyes. I swore to her that I would love her forever and she responded with a barely perceptible kiss, it was too weak.. Then she returned to the darkness of her pain“.
Nosotti’s return to work in Germany for the European Championships
That job that Nosotti has not left. In fact, the journalist has already returned to Germany for the match against Croatia, receiving the affection of everyone including the national coach Luciano Spalletti. A choice that “Noso” explained like this: “I had left a job half-finished, in Germany, and Silvia wouldn’t have liked it. And then working helps you not to remain nailed to the pain, not to get sucked in. Work is redemption, it’s feeling useful, it’s sharing with others. No one is indispensable, of course. But I have an idea, perhaps an illusion, of the journalist’s job that has to do with ethics. It would have seemed like running away, leaving others, hiding. So I accepted. When I came back here I felt dizzy. I was a different man, compared to the week before, I had to glue the pieces of myself together and start over. I didn’t know if I could do it”.
Nosotti journalist at Euro 2024 to avoid sinking
This is why Nosotti decided to talk about the European Championships, also to try to metabolise the pain: “Telling stories these days has helped me not to sink. Like the affection of so many people, here. Of the players, of the colleagues, of the fans I meet on the street. And then that hug from Luciano Spalletti, before Italy Croatia. I didn’t expect it. At that moment we were no longer the coach of the national team and the journalist who has to talk about him. We were two human beings. We were born in the same area, in the same year, I saw him play and then start coaching. He had learned of Silvia’s illness because I had missed a match of the national team, in the past months”
All in the thought of the last words of his wife Silvia before the European Championships: “I need to remember now, I really want to hear Silvia’s voice again, I don’t want to forget her, ever. She always wanted me to be clear, dry, without frills, in telling. She recommended me, as a teacher, to limit incidentals and to get to the point. Before I left for Dortmund he told me “go ahead, do your job, I’ll watch you on TV”. Here. Journalism is a profession, more than a job. It is an important, ancient thing. Made not only of technique, but, above all, of ethics and humility. This is why I am here now, with my pain, to tell what I see“.
