MILAN – Current Bologna head coach Roberto Donadoni has received the Facchetti Prize for his services to football last year, "investing so much into Parma and acting with dignity as the football club collapsed".
Gianfelice Facchetti was there to hand over the 2015 edition of 'The Beauty of Football' award, which is dedicated to the memory of his father Giacinto, the unforgettable Nerazzurri star.
There was also a moment of silence in the Dino Buzzati room at La Gazzetta dello Sport's offices, just as the whole of France stopped to remember the 129 victims who tragically lost their lives during the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.
The award, which is now into its tenth year, has come to represent the values that Giacinto Facchetti embodied throughout his life, on and off the pitch.
Here's what his son Gianfelice had to say on this year's prize:
"Every year I take home a sensation of the profound clarity that this sport offers. When they thought up the idea of the award, I thought it was a bit premature. Actually, it's one of the best legacies we have of my father.
"This year I thought we could have called it the 'The Beauty and Decency of Football' award. Seeing Roberto with no players on the bench was a huge injustice. This person had invested so much into Parma's fate and was dignified throughout as the club went under. The decision to award him the prize was an easy one that everybody agreed upon."
Just before receiving the award, Donadoni shared an anecdote on the first time he met Facchetti. "I was still in the youth team at Atalanta and I suddenly found myself in front of Giacinto, who was going somewhere to play tennis. He made a huge impression on me. I thought: 'If only everyone in Serie A was like him...' I was always struck by the way he carried himself and represented important values."
Inter's vice president Javier Zanetti – who won the prize in 2012 for his social work and his wonderful career as a player – was also on hand to say a few words at the prize ceremony: "First of all, I'd like to say congratulations to Roberto on a fully deserved award. I remember coming up against him in my first few years in Italy: he was very difficult to stop! I didn't do a lot of fouls in my career, but a couple here and there were necessary on him. He is a very decent man, incredibly loyal and respectful."
The former Nerazzurri captain then wrapped his speech up with a personal memory of Facchetti: "Giacinto means so much to the Inter family. He welcomed me when I was young and made me understand the importance of the shirt we both wore."
Photo: La Gazzetta dello Sport | F. Bozzani
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