90: Andrea Fortunato, Juventus, Upper Deck Juventus F.C. – Campioni d’Italia 94/95

When we reflect on significant moments in sporting history we are often transported back to the place we were and the people we were with. Just over a month ago I was on my sofa witnessing England come so close to European Championship glory as my mother-in-law went from disinterested onlooker to the Three Lions’ newest fan. Back in April 2016 I ended up in the bar of one of the shiny new hotels surrounding Wembley with my mate Sean, a lad we hadn’t seen since school and a large crowd of elated Crystal Palace fans following the FA Cup semi-final. All the way back in May 1995 I was watching my sister celebrate her twelfth birthday at a funfair in Crystal Palace Park as goals from Fabrizio Ravanelli, Gianluca Vialli and Didier Deschamps secured Juventus their first Serie A title in nine years with a 4-0 win over closest rivals Parma. I was gutted to miss the game live on Channel 4 but one of my sister’s schoolmates threw up on the chairoplanes so I was hardly denied entertainment.

The 1994/95 Scudetto victory was a significant one for the Old Lady. For a start it ended AC Milan’s three years of domestic dominance as the Rossoneri finished in a disappointing fourth having been bested at home and away thanks to strikes from Ravanelli, Vialli and captain Roberto Baggio. League success was also matched in the Coppa Italia as Juve swept aside Roma, Lazio and Parma to secure a domestic double. An iconic victory in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup against Borussia Dortmund looked to have set them on the way to an historic treble but Parma were finally rewarded for their own stellar season thanks to a gritty victory over two legs. A breakthrough season for Alessandro Del Piero suggested that the future was bright for the Turin side and it was little surprise when the majority of this team went on to Champions League glory in the following campaign. However, the 1994/95 season was also one blighted by tragedy for Juventus, and Italian football as a whole, due to the untimely death of 23-year-old fullback Andrea Fortunato in April 1995.

Fortunato rose through the youth ranks at Como and established himself in the first team as a teenager in his second season. Although Como narrowly missed out on promotion from Serie C1 his impressive performances at such a tender age attracted the attention of Serie A side Genoa. Fresh off an impressive fourth place finish in the Italian top flight it quickly became apparent that the teenage sensation would find his game time limited, especially due to the presence of future Middlesbrough man Branco, and after a clash with the coaching staff he was labelled “an arrogant hothead” and packed off on loan to Serie B side Pisa. He made 25 appearances to help them finish sixth before returning to Genoa ahead of the 1991/92 campaign. His previous transgressions clearly forgiven he made his Serie A debut in September 1992 against Fiorentina and his impressive chemistry with fellow youthful fullback Christian Panucci helped steer Genoa well clear of relegation. Fortunato also chipped in with three goals in his 33 appearances and was snapped up by Juventus for 12bn lira ahead of the 1993/94 season.

He hit the ground running with the Turin giants and his boundless energy and eye for an assist made him a hit with players and fans alike. National team manager Arrigo Sacchi described him as “a revelation” and awarded him his first Italian cap in a 3-0 win over Estonia as a substitute for the great Paolo Maldini. The striking similarities between the two suggested that Fortunato would more than likely be part of Sacchi’s squad for the 1994 World Cup in the USA. However, shortly after his big break for the Azzurri, Fortunato suffered a sudden loss of form and he struggled to complete games as his trademark stores of energy seemed to abandon him. In May 1994, while on international duty, team doctors announced that he had a rare form of leukaemia and would be released in order to undergo treatment. 

At first Andrea Fortunato struggled to find a suitable bone marrow donor and endured chemotherapy in a Turin hospital in the autumn of 1994. A first attempt at a bone marrow transplant, with his sister Paola serving as donor, was unsuccessful but after a transfer to a hospital in Perugia and a second bone marrow transplant Fortunato appeared to make a full recovery. He was included on Marcelo Lippi’s roster for the 1994/95 season and was even named in the training squad for Juve’s 1-0 win over Sampdoria in February 1995 although he watched the game from the stands in the end. Shortly afterwards Fortunato contracted flu followed by pneumonia. Sadly he did not recover and died in hospital in Perugia on April 25th.

The next day the Italian national team held a minute’s silence ahead of their European Championship qualifier against Lithuania and the players dedicated their 1-0 victory to Fortunato. When Juventus won Serie A a few weeks later the club commemorated their 23rd league title as ‘Forunato’s Scudetto’ and he was awarded posthumous medals for both the Old Lady’s league and Coppa Italia victories. Whilst it is rare that anyone speaks ill of the dead, particularly those who have passed away far too young, Fortunato was regarded as one of the most talented Italian footballers to have emerged in the early 1990s and was highly regarded by his coaches, team-mates and the fans of the clubs he graced in his short career. The Upper Deck card set released to revel in Juventus’ exceptional 1994/95 season included ninety images of the club’s players past and present as well as some questionable action shots but the final card was reserved for a simple message of farewell to a young man taken in his prime. Ciao Andrea.