It was the 13th minute in the game between Fiorentina and Benevento last Sunday. As planned, the ball was kicked into touch and both teams stood still as fans in the Curva Fiesole unveiled a magnificent choreography that simply read “Davide 13” for their Captain that had suddenly and tragically passed away just one week earlier.
Just at that moment, the rain began to fall in Florence, midfielder Milan Badelj – who had taken the armband in the most heartbreaking of circumstances – pointed to the sky as if he knew it was a sign from his former team-mate.
It was the Croatia international that had stood up and made a speech at the 31-year-old’s funeral last Thursday. It is to be imagined that footballers live with a very set routine, reports noting that the alarm was raised last Sunday when Astori, usually the first to turn up for breakfast, failed to appear. Badelj himself confirmed this when he mentioned that the defender would also turn on the light in the physiotherapy room for the rest of the players. “Now you are the light for us,” he concluded.
Since that fateful morning, the Fiorentina squad have failed to play the match they had prepared for after the rest of the Serie A fixtures were justifiably cancelled, have trained for this Sunday’s fixture without their Captain, left their tributes outside the stadium, and attended his funeral on Thursday. How that group coped with such a change in routine with the world watching them as they grieved, yet still managed to pick themselves up to be ready for another match on Sunday, is beyond comprehension.
“We had to get back to playing and break the ice, so it was right to return in front of our fans,” said Coach Stefano Pioli in his post-match press conference. “To say it was an emotional day would be an understatement. We can’t pretend that everything will go back to being the way it was, because it can’t. If I had a united group before, and Davide deserved a lot of credit for that, then today they are even closer.
“I wasn’t sure that it was the best idea to play today, but the players wanted to get on the field. They are experiencing a situation bigger than themselves, Astori was a central figure in everything we did. These lads are young and wanted to give their soul for Davide today.”
Beautiful 💜
One player that made it blatantly obvious he was doing just that against Benevento was Giovanni Simeone. The 22-year-old was desperate to score in the first half, punching the ground with tears of frustration every time a chance went begging. This young side had only been formed in the summer after the Viola had a huge clearout, meaning their Captain had been so vitally important to their development and formation as a group.
Simeone’s frustration was a sign of how these players will move forward on their difficult journey ahead, eager to perform to the absolute maximum for the sake of the man who is no longer around to guide them. If the start of the rain had been a strange coincidence in the 13th minute, what was to happen next could challenge even the most cynical of observers.
Vitor Hugo – the man who had the unfortunate task of replacing Astori in the side – made an improbable leap to head home from a corner at 13:00 Italian time. He was wearing the number 31 shirt, the reverse of Astori’s number, and it was his 13th appearance for the Viola. A beautiful narrative had emerged all by itself when Hugo went to the bench and saluted a t-shirt bearing the image of his Captain, a perfect tribute from his deputy in the heart of central defence.
Vitor Hugo opens the scoring and salutes Astori.
The whole Fiorentina team celebrated with him 💜
It had been a strange day to hear the almost deafening silence at the start of the football match, a concept totally at odds with normality before a game begins. It was heartbreaking too, to see the players collapse at the end of the match from sheer emotional exhaustion, making it clear just how much it had taken out of them to play that 90 minutes.
However, you could begin to see a rainbow appearing after the storm, the legacy of positivity that Astori left for us so great that it simply cannot be ignored. The rebuilding process has only just begun, but Fiorentina is a proud club that will do everything they can to use this tragedy to be better, just like the player himself would’ve wanted.
“You have to believe in something in life,” continued Pioli in response to what had certainly seemed like divine inspiration. “It was right that it should go this way. [Astori] was always positive and thought we were on the right track.” Things will never be the same in Florence after the loss of their Captain. It seemed like the team had a fresh start in the summer with so many departures and new arrivals, but nothing could have pressed ‘reset’ like what happened just over a week ago.
The death of Davide Astori has changed everything for the supporters, the players and the staff at Fiorentina and all involved will endeavour to start again in the manner of which he would be so proud.
