Bon Voyage, Davide…
A tribute to Davide Astori by Debopam Roy from Goalden Times
There is no greater tragedy than a life unfulfilled. The life of Davide Astori, leader and captain of Fiorentina Calcio, part of the Azzurri backline and father and husband, was certainly not one. He had achieved much more in his 31 years than what most manage to do. The death itself – by natural causes in his sleep in the morning before a crucial Serie A encounter at Udine, was cruel. That tragedy curtailed calcio across divisions in Italy the whole weekend, and has continued to affect the world of football till this day.
The pain is numbing and the shock is overwhelming. The death of a man at the height of his prime is itself a tragedy of the highest order. But when you combine that with the circumstances and the timeframe of his death, you are left to really think hard how fleeting this life can be.
Milan Quartet
All of us lovers of calcio have followed Davide through the last decade as one of those elegant and strong defenders who can lead by example both on and off the ground. Tall, consistent and left footed with good aerial ability and a reliable technique, he was able to play both left side in a three man defense or centre back/ left back in a four man defense.
He was born in Bergamo and joined the Milan youth setup in 2001. An internship in the Milan primavera during a period when Milan actually were not producing many young talents (what with Milan lab engaged in increasing the footballing lifespan of the legends and Milan often having a team of players aged over 30), Davide was a little different. Milan Primavera wasn’t a fashionable place like in the 80s and 90s with the team never winning the Campianato Primavera nor reaching the finals. During the first 5-6 years of the millenium, only 4 names stood out as commendable graduates – Ignazio Abate, Luca Antonini, Alesandro Matri and Davide Astori. All of them were loaned out with Milan not a place for a youngster to debut in those days and they made their names in Serie B or C and in the provinces. Ultimately they would all, or rather all except Astori, would return to the fold of the mother ship – Milan. Astori too was poised to return in the summer of 2013 but it didn’t materialise and he chose Roma the next year. Among this quartet, he was the only one to miss out on a scudetto and that may have to do him staying back at Cagliari after rejecting big money moves from abroad.
The Cagliari Bond
The capital of Sardinia in the Italian south is a turbulent place for football at the best of times. Davide joined Cagliari in 2006 but spent 2 years on loans and returned in 2008, his return coinciding with one Massimiliano Allegri taking the reins. Davide was the apprentice in a defense manned by Diego Lopez – the current manager of Cagliari with midfield creativity coming from Andrea Lazzari, Andrea Cossu and a strike force consisting of Ale Matri and Robert Acquafresca. That was the year they managed to break into the top 10 for the first and only time in this century. Following that year, Cagliari remained a lower mid table side but Davide continued to wow the calico faithful with his staunch defensive style. He played on till 2013-14 season when following Cagliari’s relegation, he moved to Roma. But in these 6 seasons, he was a pillar of Cagliari, earning his maiden Italy call up, his senior Italy debut and even his first goal for Italy in the Confederations Cup 2013 which was the bronze medal winning goal for Italy. Throughout this all, he remained and thrived in Sardinia.
Beyond Sardinia
Davide’s stint at Roma was supposed to be his journey to the big ticket. But injuries plagued him and he was restricted to 24 games only. He moved to Fiorentina next year and immediately formed a solid partnership with Gonzalo Rodriguez. Finally at the beginning of this season, after Rodriguez’ departure, he was appointed the captain. Indeed with 8-9 first team members departing Viola, he was the one on whom the club had pinned their entire regeneration hopes. Solid performances had stretched the Viola into the top 10 territory by end of the year too and then the form nosedived somewhat. This trip to Udinese was an opportunity to turn it around and the team was rallying for that. The club too had recognized the value of Davide and was about to renew his contract come Monday – the day after the match when they returned to Florence.
The death of a sportsperson throws up questions about how well monitored he was, but at the end of the day, all these feel pointless right now. Finding a point of responsibility will not lessen the loss of his longtime partner Francesca or his 2 year old daughter, Vittoria. Their only solace – if it can be called so, is that he died peacefully in his sleep with no discomfort. The club too would have been devastated with the loss of such an influential figure and would find it very hard to turn around their performance graph under these circumstances.
We will remember Davide not just as an honest hardworking professional who rose to be a national team player despite not playing for any of the traditional super powers of Italian football but also as a leader, a family man and someone with whom players could bond easily – be it the 40 year old legend of Gigi Buffon or Ricky Saponara who joined Fiorentina only last year and has not yet had a full season’s time with him.
Tributes have been flowing on social media from all over the world of football. Giorgio Chiellini, the Juventus defensive stalwart and Azzuri teammate of Davide, paid tribute to the man in a post-match interview after his side’s inspirational Champions League comeback victory against premier league side Tottenham. Tears streamed down his face before the start of the match, as an emotional and packed Wembley paid a heartwarming tribute to Davide. The world of football mourns Davide Astori, and will remember him forever as an honest and hardworking footballer who gave his all to the game, but most importantly, as a good man.
About Debopam Roy
Debopam Roy follows football in Italy and South America. You can reach him on Twitter @rossoneri
