Candido Cannavò

A minute's silence was observed at all football matches and sporting events in Italy on Sunday in honour of former Gazzetta dello Sport editor Candido Cannavò, who has passed away at the age of 78.

'Humanity and altruism'
Cannavò was editor of Gazzetta dello Sport from 1983 to 2002. The newspaper, called 'La Rosa' ('The Pink') due to the colour of its pages, is the most important Italian sports newspaper. Under Cannavò's leadership, Gazzetta confronted social problems like racism and violence in football, and the editor received several awards during his career, including in 2006 the Saint Vincent-Indro Montanelli prize for his contribution to journalism. He leaves behind his wife Franca and three sons; Alessandro, Marilisa and Marco. Alessandro said: "My father was an example of humanity and altruism and we have received a lot of condolence from people who never even knew him personally."

Zanetti grief
FC Internazionale Milano captain Javier Zanetti paid tribute to Cannavò: "We will miss this great person, a sports lover who I got to know more and more in recent years. I want to send his family the embrace of the Inter family that will remember him forever. His articles were never unoriginal, they were always balanced and interesting, and often arose from interesting situations. I remember when, with Cannavò, we went to talk with the inmates in the San Vittore prison, a very moving experience. And I will never forget the article he dedicated to me after my 600th appearance for Inter, because it is one of the things I hold dearest in my career."

President's thoughts
UEFA President Michel Platini has also presented his condolences to Candido Cannavò's family on behalf of himself and UEFA.