Roma defender Gianluca Mancini was visibly emotional during a post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia following a 2-1 win over Milan in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals: ‘I am trying not to cry. My sister and Mattia’s family are suffering.’
Mancini broke into tears after giving Roma a first-half lead against Milan in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals. The brother of his brother-in-law, Mattia Giani, had died on Monday aged 26, after collapsing during an Eccellenza match in Tuscany.
The Roma defender celebrated by showing a T-shirt with a message for Giani and his family.
“I am trying not to cry. My sister and Mattia’s family are suffering, but I wanted to have this shirt to give them strength. Their world fell around them, but I know that they’ll be pleased for this night,” Mancini told Sky Sport Italia through tears.
“I tried to make a gesture for his family, for Mattia. His father came here many times with him, he said being in the Olimpico was one of the happiest days of their lives, so this meant so much.
“What matters is Roma, it was a difficult match, we faced it the right way. We went down to 10 men, we did it for Celik, who is a great player and guy. We knew how to suffer under pressure and proved once again the collective is what matters.
“We’re proud to be in a European semi-final for the third year in a row.”
There were other moving scenes after the final whistle, as Evan Ndicka was with his teammates celebrating on the pitch just days after he was stretchered off with a collapsed lung during the Serie A match against Udinese. At the time, there were fears he had suffered a heart attack, but tests in hospital showed no cardiac issues.