Tottenham pay poignant tribute to late fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone by laying wreath on bench ahead of Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt as fans observe minute’s applause
- Tributes paid at Tottenham’s first home game since Gian Piero Ventrone died
- The fitness coach passed away from a form of leukaemia last week aged 62
- Spurs fans held a minute’s applause before their clash with Eintracht Frankfurt
- A floral wreath was placed on the side’s bench for the Champions League match
Tottenham Hotspur made a number of tributes to their late fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone in their first home match since his death.
Last week, Ventrone died at the age of 62 from a brain haemorrhage, shortly after being diagnosed with a form of acute myeloid leukaemia.
Before their Champions League match with Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night, a floral tribute was placed on the Spurs bench at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – alongside a similar wreath from visiting captain Sebastian Rode.
Fans and players came together for a minutes applause in honour of Ventrone, and also former Spurs player John Duncan, who also died last week at the age of 73.
Ventrone had been colleagues with Spurs manager Antonio Conte for almost 30 years, and came to the club when the Italian was appointed as boss last year.
Tottenham dedicated their 1-0 win away to Brighton over the weekend to the memory of Ventrone.
Speaking to BT Sport before the match, pundit Peter Crouch said it was easy to forget the importance of a club’s backroom staff to those players, especially if you’re not inside a club’s “bubble”.
Players came together to applaud the memory of Gian Piero Ventrone and John Duncan
Crouch added: ‘He was with Antonio Conte for almost 30 years, that must have had a huge impact inside the dressing room. To come through that and get the result [against Brighton] was special.’
Fellow pundit Glenn Hoddle said: ‘It was a shock to everyone at the club. It happened very quickly, by all accounts. The players and managers have got to be applauded for the way they handled it emotionally. They did the business for him, 100% [at Brighton].’
More to follow…