The memory of the champion who left us on 14 February 2004. Then the Milan-Napoli and Roma-Inter matches seen by Altafini and Leo Gassman. And swimming with Martinenghi
Marco Pantani died on 14 February 2004. In these twenty years the memory of him has grown instead of waning, because the Pirate was – but it would be fair to say he remains – a popular hero, as well as generous and good. Like all heroes he died early, too soon, at just 34 years old, alone in a hotel room, suffocated by depression and the cocaine with which he “medicated” her. Even if his mother has not yet surrendered to a truth that she does not recognize as such. But what matters today is what Pantani was in life, that is, the greatest climber of all time, the last to win the Giro and Tour in the same year (1998). He didn’t win much, also due to a series of injuries at the height of his career and that famous stop in Madonna di Campiglio in 1999, the pinnacle of his career. Yet he was much more than a cycling champion: he was cycling, so in this twenty-year anniversary Sportweek (on newsstands on Saturday with the Gazzetta at the price of 2.20 euros) dedicates the cover story to him. “You miss the champion – mother Tonina told us – People’s affection is beautiful, but it cannot give me back my Marchino, his laugh, his voice, his gestures. When I go to visit him at the cemetery I can’t be alone with him because there is a coming and going of cyclists. It’s an incredible thing: over the years this love has increased.”
the big matches of a
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Turning the page and changing sport, the Serie A weekend offers two big matches: Milan-Napoli, the last two winners of the Scudetto, and Roma-Inter. The first is presented to us by a double ex like José Altafini and, outspoken as he is, his interview is worth reading: the way Leao reproaches him (“he does exceptional things but he doesn’t fight for every ball, and it makes me angry ”) or De Laurentiis, a “challenging” president, with a strong and undiplomatic character. And if this year it is not a championship challenge it is because “both teams have lost important pieces while others have not maintained the performance of the season in which they won”. Altafini doesn’t skimp on the memories, many and fun, on the prediction (“I see the Rossoneri as favourites”) and on the declaration of support: “Milan, because it’s the only one that invites me to the match every year”. Leo Gassmann, the singer son of Alessandro and nephew of Vittorio who returns to acting in the role of Franco Califano, will talk to us about the other big match on Sunday on Rai Uno. He says: “I am a Roma fan, raised in the myth of Totti and I see myself in Nainggolan, perhaps little technique but a lot of heart. I like going into the corner, I didn’t appreciate Mourinho’s dismissal but it makes me happy that De Rossi is now on the bench, also because the team seems more fun to me. Therefore, even if Inter are very strong, I hope for a draw, perhaps with a goal from Dybalino.”
De Ketelaere
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Sportweek also offers you a report on Charles De Ketelaere, the Belgian striker who after the painful flop at Milan in his first year in Italy has found his best self again on loan at Atalanta (9 goals and 7 assists so far this season): let’s try to understand how he succeeded between easing the pressure and the role to which Gasperini returned him. And we close with football with the Top 11 of the former Italian goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis and a portrait of Bruno Conti 50 years after his debut in Serie A thanks to Liedholm: he was a Calimero rejected by everyone, he became World champion as a protagonist .
Martinenghi
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Our magazine also offers you an exclusive with breaststroker Nicolò Martinenghi, our spearhead at the Doha World Championships who also looks beyond: “This 2024 is a year to live intensely, but I know well what to do and how to do it”. We then introduce you to the young Jannik Sinner’s skiing opponents before he chose the racket, to discover that “he was already beating us all then, until one day our main opponent mysteriously disappeared from the competitions”. Let’s enter his social network, and that of his girlfriend, and take you for a luxury weekend in Cortina, between fashion and the Women’s Ski World Cup, to conclude with our usual suggestions including this week those for a Valentine’s Day gift really special.
Gazzetta dello Sport
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