Gianluca Vialli’s book Goals has been released in the UK. Its release has given an opportunity to the Italian footballer to speak to British Media about his ordeal fighting cancer and living with Covid-19.
Vialli is at his home in Chelsea, where he is in lockdown with his wife and two teenage daughters. His elderly parents live in Cremona, the town in northern Italy which has been hit so hard by the coronavirus
The Guardian reports that Vialli’s experience was like one where you feel that you are letting someone down, like your parents,” Gianluca Vialli says as his memories of cancer return with renewed force.
“His voice is grainy with hurt and, even on Skype, his eyes glisten. “You don’t want your parents to see you in a lot of pain. The former Italy striker, who played for and managed Chelsea, pauses because the tears have choked him. V. He cannot talk as he remembers why he did not tell them when he was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017.
I break the silence because it’s understandable he would not wish his parents to suffer. “Yes,” the 55-year-old agrees as he composes himself. “There is also all this shame. I’ve always been perceived as a tough guy. A strong guy with a lot of determination. To not be in that position made me uneasy. I didn’t want to be looked at as a poor guy with a disease. That’s why I didn’t share it widely for 12 months.
“It’s also a burden. People will call to show they’re thinking about you. I thought that, instead of spending time on the phone, I needed time for myself. That’s why I wore a jumper under the shirt – to hide that I’d lost so much weight. These feelings are natural and stay with you a while. And then, at least in my case, they go away. The day you start looking at things differently, your life changes. Now I show my scars with pride. They are a sign of what I’ve been through.”
The Daily Mail reports that Vialli “feels as if his three-year struggle with cancer has given him a second chance. It made him pause. It gave him time to look at what he was becoming and realise that he did not much care for his direction of travel. He realised he needed, and wanted, to speak to his parents more. He wanted to be a better father to his two teenage daughters and a better husband to his wife Cathryn. He felt he had been standing still. He wanted to learn more about himself.
It adds that “when the conversation gets too serious, he leavens it by reverting to poking fun at himself. ‘I still get upset if the pasta is not cooked how I like it,’ he says, ‘but I’ve learned to put things into context. There were things maybe I took for granted and now I realise how valuable they are.'”
The Guaridan adds that Vialli has anxious days when he worries if the cancer will return. But he spends more time talking about gratitude. “I’ve learned that gratitude is a very powerful emotion. And I’m very grateful to many wonderful people – my wife and family and all the people who have looked after me. They’re not just competent and knowledgeable. They really feel what you’re going through and there’s a great deal of empathy. I’m looked after at the Royal Marsden in Chelsea. It’s an amazing hospital.”
“Has it been difficult to maintain such positivity amid Covid-19? “For me it has been hard because I come from Cremona. It probably has the highest death rate in the region. In a way I feel I should be there with my people. I felt so bad reading that people were dying in hospital without their loved ones. It’s a tragedy. “Staying at home in Chelsea is not a problem. I can work remotely. I can walk to the park. My wife and daughters are here and it’s great to be with them 24/7. In London I only know two people that tested positive. Thank God I have not lost anyone I know in this country. But it’s different in Cremona where there are only 80,000 people. London has six million people. You feel it more in a smaller place.”
Commenting about the release last week of the English version of his book, Goals, a collection of 90 inspirational stories from the world of sport, the Daily Maily says that the book seems particularly timely as society tries to cope with the ongoing agonies and disruption of the coronavirus crisis.
Vialli’s story is the last chapter. It is number 90+1, a nod to the idea he has been given the gift of time added on.
The Guardian, Daily Mail
Photo – Instagram Gianluca Vialli
