Sad news out of Spurs this morning.
Spurs’ fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone has died at the age of 61, the club confirmed on Thursday morning.
Ventrone joined Spurs as part of Antonio Conte’s backroom staff, having previously held roles at Juventus, Catania, JS Suning, GZ Evergrande and AC Ajaccio.
Spurs released a short statement to announce the sad news, writing: “As loveable off the pitch as he was demanding on it, Gian Piero quickly became a hugely popular figure with players and staff.
“He will be greatly missed by everyone at the Club and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this impossibly sad time.”
Gian Piero Ventrone dies aged 61
We are devastated to announce that fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone has passed away.
He will be greatly missed by everyone at the Club and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this impossibly sad time.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 6, 2022
Spurs’ pre-season fitness sessions went viral during the summer, with Ventrone responsible for a lot of the hard running that Conte’s side have to do.
Speaking at the time, Matt Doherty said that he “loved” Ventrone, even though he put the Spurs players through their paces and ran them ragged.
“It’s all love for Gian Piero actually. It’s funny because we were having this conversation. Normally when you have a fitness coach like that who is running you ragged you start to not like him but that’s not the case. We all absolutely love him,” he said. “We’ve got so much respect for him that we do whatever he tells us to.”
Speaking about the fitness sessions, Doherty said that it is difficult, but it helps to instill determination in the squad.
He said: “During it you’re just thinking don’t quit. Even if you crawl over the line or you have to jog or walk towards the end. It’s that determination the manager has kind of instilled in us to keep going and never quit.”
Conte will likely release his own personal statement, following the loss of his one of his coaching staff.
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