Gian Piero Ventrone

Gian Piero Ventrone (14 April 1960 – 6 October 2022) was an Italian athletic trainer.

An ISEF-qualified teacher, he started his career in 1994, as athletic trainer for Marcello Lippi's Juventus until 1999 and from 2001 and 2004. Once his Juventus experience ended, he collaborated with Lippi in the preparation for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, won by Italy. He worked with Antonio Conte at Bari and Siena and with Fabrizio Ravanelli, a player he trained at Juventus, as an assistant coach at Ajaccio.

Profile

Style of work When Ventrone joined Juventus, he brought 43 computers for the pursuit of perfection in every exercise and tools no one had ever used. He made the players train by making them listen to the music of Queen and of Nirvana. His rhythms and workloads knocked out a number of professional athletes. Images of Harry Kane collapsing and vomiting and Son Heung-min almost fainting and lying agonising on the ground in a summer preparation in Seoul went viral. His funeral was held three days later in the San Luigi Gonzaga church in Naples. Conte, out of respect for him, did not hold a press conference for the game against Brighton on the day he died. Before the match, the Tottenham players warmed up wearing a shirt that read "Forever in our hearts". During the minute's silence dedicated to him before the match, Conte cried. Harry Kane dedicated his winning goal to him.