A racket for the Pope

SINNER Jannik Sinner met Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, whose passion for tennis is well known. He showed him the trophies won by the Italian men and women: the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup. Sinner then gave the Pontiff one of his rackets, inviting him to play. Leo XIV declined, "so as not to break something." For this Pope too, after Francis, sport is a kind of Esperanto with which to communicate with anyone in the world.
IMPECCABLE

BENVENUTI I confess that when I was 12, I took my little radio under the covers and, without my parents' knowledge, listened to Paolo Valenti's commentary of the Benvenuti-Griffith match. Nino is no longer with us, but his desire to always learn something new will remain. And the Christian love with which he accompanied the sad old age of those who had beaten him, from Griffith to Monzon. A virtue like this is worth more than a thousand medals.
ALTRUISM

THORSBY Morten Thorsby, a Genoa player, is now the number one figure in world football on "green" issues. Appointed UEFA Ambassador for sustainability strategies, five years ago he launched a website (weplaygreen) to promote a more problem-sensitive sport. His number 2 jersey, inspired by the Paris Agreement (keeping global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times), has become the symbol of a battle.
ECOLOGICAL

TEBOGO His name is Letsile Tebogo, he is Botswana, and he won the gold medal in the 200 meters at the last Olympics. He lives in Brescia, and since then, he has become a sort of adopted Italian. "Athletics changed me long before I won the Games. If I hadn't started practicing sports, I'd probably be a delinquent today. When you train in the evening, you're so tired that all you think about is sleeping."
DEVOTED

ITALIAN Vincenzo Italiano brought joy, after 50 years, to Bologna fans with the Coppa Italia. Before the final, the team was received by President Mattarella, and the coach read a moving speech: "Sport generates emotions, uniting grandparents, fathers, and kids. We—the players, the managers, and, above all, the fans—are a community. And it is this sense of community that sport can guarantee, beyond results, rankings, and titles."
SPORTSMAN

FERRER Salva Ferrer, Spezia's Spanish defender, returned to the field 550 days after his last appearance, and 18 months after a brutal diagnosis: Hodgkin's lymphoma. He played for eight minutes in a Spezia-Cosenza match he will remember for a long time. "I missed playing soccer terribly," said the athlete, who decided to celebrate by getting married. We'll never know how much the motivation of soccer helped, but in the meantime, he's recovered.
FIGHTER

CONEGLIANO There's no Italian team greater than Conegliano, in any discipline. In the wake of the Olympic gold medal won by Velasco's volleyball players, the Veneto team has won no fewer than five trophies, achieving the impossible. Consider that this is a club from a small town in the province of Treviso, with just under 35,000 inhabitants. It was founded in 2012, and in 13 years, it has shattered all records thanks to impeccable management.
INVINCIBLE


Carlo Nesti
NP June/July