Gian Piero Ventrone, a legendary Italian fitness coach who had been on Antonio Conte’s Tottenham coaching staff for the past year, died suddenly at the age of 62.
The fitness guru, whose notoriously grueling regimes earned him the nickname ‘The Marine’ in his homeland, died on Thursday from acute leukemia, according to Italian media.
Ventrone was last seen in the Tottenham Hotspur dugout three weeks ago, when the north Londoners defeated Leicester City, and the news shocked the club.
‘We are devastated to announce that fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone has passed away,’ said Spurs in a statement on Thursday.
‘The 61-year-old joined the club in November 2021, as part of Antonio Conte’s backroom staff, having previously held roles at Juventus, Catania, JS Suning, GZ Evergrande, and AC Ajaccio.
‘As loveable off the pitch as he was demanding on it, Gian Piero quickly became a hugely popular figure with players and staff.
‘He will be greatly missed by everyone at the club and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this impossibly sad time.’
Despite his demanding fitness sessions which left players gasping for breath and even vomiting, Ventrone was hugely popular within the dressing room at Spurs and was seen as a father figure by many of the players.
Ventrone’s methods were thrust into the spotlight in the summer when his infamous running drill – which sees players run 42 lengths of the pitch after a full training session – went viral as Tottenham stars such as Harry Kane and Son Heung-min collapsed to the floor in exhaustion.
Son had a particularly close relationship with Ventrone and praised the Italian after he bagged his hat-trick against Leicester last month.
‘He is a killer but I have a really, really good relationship with Gian Piero,’ said the South Korean. ‘So obviously his English is not perfect, sometimes he is coming with his phone and translating into English from Italian.
‘It means a lot. Not as football-wise, I think life-wise he gives me so much advice, which I am really grateful.
‘He has been so helpful, giving me always a big hug in tough times and even great times he has always been next to me and every staff.
‘Even today before we left the training ground, the hotel, we had a couple of minutes of having a nice conversation which made me really comfortable and really grateful.’
Ventrone made his name with Juventus, spending a decade at the club between 1994 and 2004 – a period which saw the Italian giants win the Champions League with a team that actually featured Conte.
Explaining his methods, the fitness coach previously said: ‘Let’s clarify a basic concept: harder training does not mean better, otherwise we would train the players like the Marines. It’s simple, we train them like special departments and after two days there is no one left on the pitch.’
