ITALY STAR ASTORI DIES AT 31
ITALY legend Gianluigi Buffon and Chelsea boss Antonio Conte yesterday led the tributes to Fiorentina captain Davide Astori, who died yesterday at the age of 31. Astori passed away in his sleep from a suspected heart attack at the team hotel before their game against Udinese. All of Serie A’s fixtures were yesterday postponed as a mark of respect. A central defender with 14 Italy caps, Astori was team-mates with Buffon and played under Conte. He leaves a wife and a two-year-old daughter. Buffon wrote on Instagram: ‘You have a young wife and family members who are suffering. Your little girl deserves to know that her father was in all respects a perfect person. ‘You were the best expression of an ancient, surpassed world, in which values such as altruism, elegance, education and respect for others were the masters. You were one of the best sports figures I ever came across.’ Conte, speaking on Sky ahead of Chelsea’s game against Manchester City away, was clearly upset and said: ‘I had him with the national team. It is very hard in this moment to speak about this tragedy. He was a fantastic guy. He was a great player but especially a fantastic guy. He was only 31.’ Astori started in AC Milan’s academy and joined Fiorentina from Cagliari in 2016, making 58 appearances for them. He also played for Roma and Cagliari. Roberto Mancini told of his ‘great pain’ at the news and several English clubs, including Chelsea, Liverpool and both Manchester sides, also offered their condolences.