By Yannick Goedde-Bosch
Staff Writer
On March 4, Fiorentina captain Davide Astori died in his sleep in a hotel room in Udine, Italy prior to the team’s match against Udinese. He was discovered by his teammates when he failed to show up for breakfast earlier that morning.
The cause of death has been proven to be cardiac arrest based on an autopsy conducted two days later. A club statement said “Fiorentina are profoundly shaken and forced to announce that their captain Davide Astori has died.” Multiple videos show Astori’s coaches and fellow team members in tears upon hearing the news. All league games scheduled for March 4 were postponed.
Astori was a professional soccer player and team captain for Fiorentina, a division one team in the Italian league. At 31 years old, the Italian defender had totaled more than 300 appearances for the five clubs at which he played for, adding up to a very impressive and exceptional career. He was even called up to play for the national team 14 times, and scored his only goal for the Italians in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup against Uruguay. His death has impacted not only his teammates, but the entire soccer community.
In Astori’s honor, the training ground at Fiorentina has been re-named “Centro Sportivo Davide Astori.” Both teams Cagliari and Fiorentina have retired the number 13 jersey worn by Astori when he played for the clubs. UEFA announced that a minute of silence was to be observed before every European match that week. At Fiorentina’s next home game, the match was paused for 60 seconds at the 13th minute in Astori’s memory. The entire stadium, fans and players included, applauded Astori’s achievements as a very heartwarming gesture.
In times like these, it is important that the soccer community comes together to support one another. Thanks to the aid of the teams in the Italian league and other teams around the world, Davide Astori will be remembered as one of the best defenders to play the game of soccer.
THE BUZZ 