Tottenham fitness trainer Gian Piero Ventrone has died aged 61 after a brief battle with leukaemia. Ventrone was a popular member of Tottenham’s backroom staff who joined Antonio Conte when the Italian took over in November 2021.
Nicknamed ‘The Marine’ for his harsh training regimens, Ventrone is said to have passed away in Naples on Wednesday night. Tottenham’s statement read: “We are devastated to announce that fitness trainer Gian Piero Ventrone has passed away.
“The 61-year-old joined the Club in November 2021, as part of Antonio Conte’s backroom, having previously held positions at Juventus, Catania, JS Suning, GZ Evergrande and AC Ajaccio. As lovable off the pitch as he is demanding. in it, Gian Piero quickly became a very popular figure with the players and staff.
“He will be greatly missed by all at the Club and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this incredibly sad time.” He was at the center of Tottenham’s grueling training sessions during pre-season in Seoul, with players even throwing up from exhaustion.
But while the players were run over, it clearly paid dividends for Conte’s side with Tottenham sitting fairly near the top of the table. Son Heung-min also indicated the impact that Ventrone had on him personally last month.
The South Korea international spoke about a conversation he had with Tottenham’s fitness guru just before the forward scored a hat-trick against Leicester. Son said he had a “really good relationship” with Ventrone, adding, “Obviously his English isn’t perfect, sometimes he comes on his phone and translates into English from Italian.”
“It means a lot. Not so much in terms of football, I think when it comes to life, he gives me so much advice, for which I am very grateful. He has been a great help, always giving me a big hug in difficult moments and even in the good moments”. He has always been by my side and all the staff.
“Even today, before we left the training ground, the hotel, we had a couple of minutes of nice conversation that made me feel very comfortable and very grateful.”
Conte’s pre-match press conference for Saturday’s match against Brighton, scheduled for today, has now been cancelled.
According to Italian reports, Ventrone’s funeral will take place on Sunday.
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