Fiorentina mourns Rocco Commisso: the president has died aged 76 | OneFootball

The news has shocked Fiorentina and the world of football: Rocco Commisso, president of the Viola, passed away during the night in the United States at the age of 76.

The club announced it with a long statement shared on its official channels: "With great pain and sadness, the Commisso family, together with his wife Catherine, children Giuseppe and Marisa, and sisters Italia and Raffaelina, announce the passing of President Rocco B. Commisso. After a prolonged period of treatment, our beloved President has left us, and today we all mourn his loss."

THE STORY OF ROCCO COMMISSO

Born in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica on November 25, 1949, he had just turned 76 years old. His was a story of emigration, vision, and success: as a child, he moved with his family to the United States, where he would go on to build a business empire destined to leave its mark. After graduating, he founded Mediacom, a company that grew to become one of the world’s giants in the telecommunications sector.

According to Forbes, as of October 8, 2023, his personal fortune was estimated at around 8 billion dollars, a figure that attests to the scale of an extraordinary entrepreneurial journey, built from scratch.

A great football enthusiast, in 2017 he entered the world of sports by purchasing the New York Cosmos, a historic club in the American landscape. But the real leap forward, the one that made him a central figure in European football as well, came on June 6, 2019, the date of the acquisition of Fiorentina. This operation marked the beginning of a new era for the Viola club and further strengthened his bond with Italy, never forgotten despite a life spent overseas.

HIS LOVE FOR FIORENTINA

His love for Fiorentina was the most beautiful gift he gave himself, spending unforgettable days with the boys and girls of the youth teams, always offering a caress and a smile to everyone. Unstoppable, he worked until his last days, dedicating himself to his companies Mediacom and Fiorentina and to their future.

Football was his passion, and Fiorentina became his love seven years ago when Rocco took command of the Viola club and began to love its fans, its colors, and the city of Florence.

‘Call me Rocco’ he simply told everyone, with his extraordinary empathy. And he was always close to Florence and the Florentines, in everyday life and even during the most difficult period of the Covid emergency, when the ‘Forza e Cuore’ campaign made significant donations to city hospitals.

VIOLA PARK: HIS GIFT TO FLORENCE

The Rocco B. Commisso Viola Park, the home of Fiorentina, will live forever bearing his name. An indelible sign of affection and the desire to look to the future of young people. Precisely the ‘kids’ who grew up in the academy, winning youth trophies and continuing their journey in Fiorentina’s men’s and women’s first teams. Under his guidance, Fiorentina reached two Conference League finals and one Coppa Italia final.

The Commisso family wishes to thank all those who stood by them during these delicate moments and is certain that the memory of Rocco will remain forever in the hearts of the many people who loved him and who shared both difficult and wonderful moments with him.

A special thought in such a sad moment goes to all the people of Fiorentina—staff, players, employees—to everyone who knew Rocco, to all the Viola supporters, and above all to all those boys and girls who will continue to carry the Viola colors and the memory of our Rocco throughout Italy and the world.

We miss you and we will always miss you.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

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