(PRIMASPORT) ACERRA, Naples 14 OCTOBER 2025 – Conte at the naming of the sports areas of Acerra Cathedral: "The connection between faith and sport is beautiful" (PRIMASPORT)
Antonio Conte was in Acerra for the naming of the premises of the Duomo Sports Centre after Roberto Lorentini
Acerra. "Thank you for inviting me. I'm representing Napoli Calcio. I bring a hug from the President to all the children. I grew up in the oratory in Lecce. We didn't have this beautiful pitch, but a pitch full of holes, yet for us that facility was San Siro. I grew up as an altar boy, serving Mass. My parents always encouraged me to seek in faith a motivation to overcome difficulties.".
These are the words of Antonio Conte, Napoli coach, who this afternoon at 5:30 pm attended the naming of the premises of the Acerra Duomo Sports Centre after Roberto Lorentini, a doctor who was a victim of the massacre at the Heysel football stadium in Belgium.
«"Last year was a championship for all of us, we won it together, and it was beautiful," said Antonio Conte. "We are here to remember the victims of Heysel, a tragedy that must teach us that violence will never win. In the stadium, on the streets, or at home, violence must never win. I am truly grateful; it's wonderful to be able to swim in the crowd every now and then, among so many children who remind me of when I was a child. I'm happy to see this connection between faith and sport.".
Caritas Acerra, together with the Association of Relatives of Heysel Victims, as part of the "I Respect You" awareness campaign, has named the premises of the Diocesan Sports Centre after Roberto Lorentini, a Tuscan doctor who died along with 38 others in the stampede that occurred during the European Cup final on 29 May 1985 at the Heysel football stadium in Belgium.
«"With this initiative, we wish to commemorate not the death and violence, but the gift of life of this man to whom we dedicate the areas of the Diocesan sports facility," said Monsignor Antonio Di Donna, Bishop of Acerra and President of the Campania Episcopal Conference. "It is a powerful and beautiful moment in which we wish to remember the sacrifice of this man who gave his life. A man who is a lesson for all the young people at the facility who need such examples.".
In addition to Andrea Lorentini, son of Roberto, president of the Heysel Victims' Association, and Tommaso Liguori, editor-in-chief of Sky Sport, the event was also attended by Sergio Brio, Juventus's longtime captain and a firsthand witness to that tragic evening, representing the Bianconeri football team: "We need to get these kids off the streets. Initiatives like this are a rebirth for these kids.".
