Antonio Conte was left visibly emotional as Tottenham and Brighton held a minute’s applause for Spurs’ late fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone.
The North London outfit confirmed the tragic passing of the 61-year-old on Thursday morning ahead of their trip to the Amex Stadium.
Ventrone, who joined Spurs in 2021 as part of Conte’s backroom team, died suddenly of fulminant leukaemia.
A hugely popular member of the club’s dressing room, Spurs players paid tributes to the Italian during their warm-up on the south coast.
The squad wore T-shirts which read: “Always in our hearts, Gian Piero.”
Conte cancelled his pre-match press conference following the news of Ventrone’s death.
But he commented on his friend in an interview with Sky Sports prior to the match, where he said: “To find words for Gian Piero is very difficult at this moment.
“We are really devastated by the pain of what happened.
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“Also because no one expected this situation.
“But sometimes you know life is not always positive situations and for this reason we have to cope in the best possible way.
“Because I know Gian Piero wanted to stay strong and continue to do our work in the way that he taught us.”
Conte was close to tears before the match kicked off as the whole stadium remembered his colleague with a minute’s applause.
And Harry Kane was quick to pay his respect to Ventrone – nicknamed ‘The Marine’ due to his intense training – after he broke the deadlock against Brighton.
The English striker headed home in the 22nd minute after getting on the end of Son Heung-min’s fizzing cross.
As part of his celebrations, Kane touched his black armband while pointing towards the sky.
