A pre-match atmosphere decidedly far from the classic football Sundays accompanied the recovery of Lanciotto Campi-Castelfiorentinomatch of group A of Eccellenza suspended on 14 April following the illness suffered by Mattia Giani, who died the following day at Careggi Hospital. The pitch rewarded Lanciotto, victorious 1-0, despite both teams being embroiled in the playout fight (with Castelfiorentino currently inside the “scissors” which would directly relegate them to Promotion).
What won, however, was the memory of Matthiascommemorated by his teammates with a t-shirt (at the bottom of the article) which portrayed him centrally together with the writing “Forever with us“, worn throughout the warm-up and when entering the pitch. Then, the minute of silence before the kick-off was deafening, at the end of which some chants rose up in memory of the late Mattia.
“It’s a shame, we wanted to remember him with a victory,” Castelfiorentino coach Nico Scardigli then told the media present, encapsulating the spirit of the team who at the end of the match went under the away section to thank the few fans present, in to seal – amidst the applause – a day that enshrined the memory of a boy who was taken from his life and for whom other events are expected on Sunday, when the game will be played for the first time at Castelfiorentino since his death of affection.
