In the Coppa Italia fixture between AC Milan and Torino, both the clubs showed their gratitude and respect towards the demised NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna during the game. The NBA legend and his daughter died along with other six people in a helicopter crash near Calabasas of California. The player and his daughter were moving towards the Mamba academy after the LA Lakers game on Sunday. On the other hand, AC Milan won the cup game against Torino at San Siro with a scoreline of 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Kobe Bryant grew up in the city of Milan during his age of 6-13. The player was a die-hard fan of Milan and the 18-time NBA All-Star was considered as a homegrown player when he went on to become the greatest of times. Before the game started and the players were warming up, the signboards having words like “Legends Never Die”, “SempreKobe”, “SempreMilan,” or “AlwaysMilan” was seen on the placards and advertising boards. The boards also showed up the images of Kobe Bryant and his daughter.
Just before the teams walked out to the middle, the stadium lights were switched off and was darkened. The public announcer paid the tribute to Bryant whereas fans applauded the phone lights, Also, the song ‘Who wants to live forever’ was played in the stadium.
Several fans were seen wearing LA Lakers jerseys with Bryant’s name on the back. Both teams wore black armbands. In the 24th minute, fans gave tribute to the player and banner was seen which read “Rest in peace Kobe and Gianna forever together.”
Wearing the black armband in honour of a lifelong Rossonero #SempreKobe pic.twitter.com/9xYfGNNn1M
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 28, 2020
On Monday, Milan tweeted an interview with Bryant when he visited the club’s training facility a few years ago.
In loving memory of a true legend: Kobe Bryant ❤ pic.twitter.com/4Ysb6FhZeQ
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 27, 2020
“Watching (Ruud) Gullit, (Frank) Rijkaard, (Marco) Van Basten and (Paolo) Maldini was always a dream for me,” Bryant said in Italian, wearing a Milan jersey.
“It’s always been my favorite squad. Back in Los Angeles I have an AC Milan shirt and scarf inside my locker and I see them every day.”
Torino tweeted:
And we will be by your side in the memory of this Legend#SempreKobe #KobeBryant https://t.co/vcEj5B8qG0
— Torino Football Club (@TorinoFC1906_En) January 28, 2020
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