Mls, Chiellini scores and dedicates the goal to Astori

Standing under the curve with the military salute, the same one Vitor Hugo did in Fiorentina-Benevento. Then the arms pointing up. His eyes visibly bright. This is how Giorgio Chiellini recalled Davide Astori, after scoring the first goal of his career in Mls with the Los Angeles shirt.

The former defender of Juve and the national team broke the deadlock against Portland Timbers (3-2 victory for the Los Angeles players), in the season debut of the reigning league champions after missing the opening match, postponed due to snow, in the heartfelt derby with LA Galaxy. The first American goal could only come on a better occasion, because when fate is involved there’s little you can do: if something has to happen, it will happen. And the anniversary of Astori’s death was a touching moment for Chiellini too, who a few hours before the Mls match had remembered his friend on social media with a simple “Five years since that cursed day. Davide, always with us”.

BROTHERHOOD

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The relationship between the two was something that went beyond work. For Astori, Chiellini was a younger brother, the right guide to take on his legacy as captain in the national team: both left-handed, rocky, leaders on and off the field, so similar that it was impossible to separate them. And it’s impossible. The greatest emblem of their bond was the day of the funeral. Chiellini, Buffon and Bonucci acted as spokesmen in the Juventus dressing room to leave London at dawn, after the victory in the Champions League against Tottenham, just to be there in the last farewell to their fraternal companion in Florence. A gesture that was greatly appreciated by the Astori family, so much so that Bruno – Davide’s brother – said: “Having seen former companions take off to be present at the funeral, made me understand that my brother’s genuineness was really loved”.

THE DEDICATION

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The memory of Davide Astori was a source of pride in the national team’s triumphant Euro2020 victory, it was that extra push that gave strength to the whole group to do something extraordinary. And Chiellini also spoke at the Quirinale, in front of the Head of State, Sergio Mattarella: “We would like to dedicate this victory to Davide Astori, who we would have liked to be here with us today. He is always present in our thoughts, in the hearts of those who knew him and also in the hearts of young people who have heard of him”.