Udinese confirmed the passing of their legendary player and head coach, Giovanni Galeone, at the age of 84 years old, on their official website on Sunday with a heartbreaking orbituary.

Udinese stated in the obituary that Galeone was not only a leader for the club but also a symbol of a glorious era in Italian football. His passing will forever be a great loss to the club, Italian football, and even European football. His teachings and achievements will be remembered forever.

About Giovanni Galeone

Galeone was born on January 25, 1941, in Naples, Italy. As a player, he played as a midfielder for Udinese, Monza, and non-league club Trieste Poziana Trieste.

In 1975, at the age of 34, Galeone decided to retire and subsequently coached at Pordenone, Adriese, Cremonese, Sangiovanese, and Grosseto, but with limited success.

From 1981 to 1983, Galeone returned to Udinese as head coach of their youth academy.

In the summer of 1983, Galeone became head coach of SPAL.

During his three years at SPAL, Galeone gained attention for helping the club avoid relegation.

In the summer of 1986, Galeoni was appointed head coach of Pescara.

During this time, he helped the club win one Serie B title and avoid relegation once, gaining wider recognition.

After a brief stint as head coach of Como, Galeoni was appointed head coach of Pescara for the second time in the summer of 1990. During this time, he again helped Pescara gain promotion back to Serie A.

In the summer of 1994, Galeone returned to Udinese, this time as head coach of the first team.

Including this stint, as well as his spells as the head coach of Perugia, Napoli, and Ancona until 2004, Galeone helped each club achieve promotion to Serie A once each, becoming a veritable promotion specialist in Italian football.

In the summer of 2006, Galeone returned to Udinese for the third time, but was sacked in January of the following year due to disagreements with president Franco Soldati.

In July 2007, Galeone returned to Pescara as technical director, but abruptly resigned after only one month.

Since then, he has not engaged in any coaching or management work. This June, Galeone personally returned to Perugia to participate in the club's 120th anniversary celebrations, which was his last public appearance.

As a manager, Galeone, along with legendary former AC Milan head coach Arrigo Sacchi, is considered one of the pioneers of the "attacking football" tactical system in Italian football, and his powerful influence has inspired many current head coaches.

Among them, current AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri and Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini are his protégés.

Former Juventus and legendary Italian international goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon considers Galeone his idol.

Even former Liverpool legendary head coach Jürgen Klopp admitted in an interview years ago that his "Gegenpressing" tactical system was partly inspired by Sacchi and Galeone.