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T ottenham Hotspur fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone has passed away after losing the battle to leukemia. Ventrone was a key member of Antonio Conte's backroom staff and was nicknamed "the Marine" for his notoriously intense sessions.
Ventrone joined the team as part of Antonio Conte’s backroom staff in November 2021. He has previously held worked with clubs like Juventus, Catania, JS Suning, GZ Evergrande and AC Ajaccio. The Spurs made a statement addressing the death of Gian Piero Ventrone, which talked about everyone has been greatly missing him.
The statement said, “We are devastated to announce that fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone has passed away. The 62-year-old joined the Club in November 2021, as part of Antonio Conte’s backroom staff, having previously held roles at Juventus, Catania, JS Suning, GZ Evergrande and AC Ajaccio.”
“As loveable off the pitch as he was demanding on it, Gian Piero quickly became a hugely popular figure with players and staff. He will be greatly missed by everyone at the Club and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this impossibly sad time.”
Further, Tottenham manager Antonio Conte had cancelled his Thursday afternoon press conference for their game against Brighton as a mark of respect. Conte has had a long relationship with Ventrone for many years, as he worked with him as a player at Juventus. Ventrone was brought in by the then manager, Marcello Lippi, in 1994 and was instrumental in the team’s fitness that won the Champions League in 1996.
Hotspurs’ winger Heung-min Son talked about Ventrone’s death as he had a great relationship with him. Son opened up about how the Italian would tackle his problems of speaking English by translating instructions from Italian on his phone.
“I have a really, really good relationship with Gian Piero,” Son said. “His English is not perfect, sometimes he is coming with his phone and translates into English from Italian. It means a lot. Not as football-wise, I think life-wise he gives me so much advice, which I am really grateful for. He has been so helpful, giving me always a big hug in tough times and even great times he has always been next to me and every staff.”