'Brilliant & loving' victim

The Columbia University grad student stabbed to death near the campus was a “brilliant” soccerloving Italian who came to the US eight years ago for school and reveled in living in New York, pals said on Friday.

Davide Giri — who was fatally knifed as he walked back to his Morningside Heights home after soccer practice — was a soft-spoken, “gifted student” who volunteered back home with his church, friends told The Post.

“This is unbelievable,’’ said Emmanuel Onyema, a former roommate who met Giri, 30, in 2012 while studying in Italy.

Onyema called Giri “one of the smartest guys I knew’’ and “a very chill guy, very soft-spoken.”

“Why would anyone ever want him dead?” the distraught friend said.

Giri was born in Alba, growing up near Turin in northern Italy, where his parents still live. He is survived by his parents, and sister and brother.

“Davide was a brilliant boy, with his whole life in front of him, and what happened is unacceptable,’’ Alba Mayor Carlo Bo told Quotidiano Nazionale.

Davide “was well known in Alba — his family has always been involved in the world of volunteering and the parish,” the mayor said.

The victim’s LinkedIn profile noted that he worked as an “activity leader and coordinator” at the local church’s summer camp.

With several university degrees already under his belt in Italy, Giri came to the US to study in 2013.

He settled in New York City five years ago after obtaining a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago before seeking a Ph.D. in computer science at Columbia.

“He really liked New York,” said longtime friend Mattias Mengoni.

“He found it welcoming and multicultural. He was very accepting of all people from all backgrounds, and New York was giving that to him.”

Mengoni said Giri planned to stay in the Big Apple “at least for the time being.

“He loved football. He was the No. 2 player for his team in New York,” Mengoni said, adding that Giri was a defensive specialist with NY International FC.

The soccer squad remembered him on Twitter as “our lovely teammate and pillar of the club.”

“We love you, man. You were a rock in defense and we will play and win for you because this is what you wanted,” it said.

Onyema said Giri’s teammates called him “Becks” — a nod to former megastar David Beckham, the friend said.

“He had a similar style as Beckham,” Onyema said.

TRAGIC LOSS: Davide Giri was a “gifted” Ph.D. student at Columbia before he was stabbed to death near the campus Thursday night. He also was beloved in his hometown of Alba, where he volunteered at his church.