‘Wise teacher’: Ronaldo hails Luigi Simoni after ex-Inter coach dies, aged 81
Former Inter Milan coach Luigi Simoni, who led the club to the UEFA Cup title in 1998 during the era of Brazilian star Ronaldo, died in Pisa on Friday at age 81 years.
“Today, 22 May, he left us. Not only any date, the most Inter-related date of most,” Inter Milan said in a statement.
Inter on Friday marked the 10th anniversary of winning the Champions League under Jose Mourinho, becoming the first Italian team to win the treble.
Simoni, whose coaching career spanned four decades and 17 different Italian clubs, never recovered after suffering from a stroke almost a year ago.
“Gigi Simoni had not been just a coach for me,” said Ronaldo on Instagram.
“If I think about him today, I believe of a wise and good man who didn't order you to do things, but explained why those things were important. I think of a teacher.
“He was the conductor; we the orchestra.”
“An excellent football man has left us,” added Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina.
A midfielder during his playing career, Simoni played 368 times, including 187 in Serie A, scoring 32 goals for clubs including Juventus, Torino and Napoli, with whom he won the Italian Cup in 1962.
He started his coaching career at former club Genoa in 1974, guiding them to Serie A the next season, the first of eight promotions achieved for his teams.
He was most remembered for his time with Inter Milan, joining along with Ronaldo in 1997, and lifting the UEFA Cup the next year after beating Lazio in the all-Italian final.
They missed from the Serie A title that season, finishing second to Juventus.
“He found its way to the Nerazzurri dugout in 1997, as well as ‘El Fenomeno’, Ronaldo,” Inter Milan recalled.
“That combination, Simoni-Ronaldo, will stay in everyone’s hearts forever, and not just those of Inter fans.
“That was a father-son relationship, one where he showed great compassion towards a truly special footballer: Simoni loved to reveal, ‘I learned more from him than he did from me that season.’ A phrase that brilliantly encapsulates which kind of person he was.”
Two-time World Cup winner Ronaldo, 43, added: “Thanks mister, you taught me a lot more than you imagine.”
