MILAN – Former Inter Milan coach Gigi Simoni, winner of the UEFA Cup with a side which included the Brazilian Ronaldo, has died at the age of 81, the club said on Friday.
In all, Simoni coached a dozen sides in Italy, some of them more than once, plus Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia in a coaching career that spanned more than 30 years.
He joined Inter before the start of the 1997-98 season at the same time they signed Ronaldo from Barcelona and led them to second place in Serie A behind Juventus and to the UEFA Cup final, where they beat Lazio 3-0.
"I learned more from Ronaldo than he did from me that season," said Simoni, who had been ill since suffering a stroke last June.
However, he was sacked by Inter the following November after a poor run of results, on the same day that he was awarded the Panchina d'Oro award for the coach of the year.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Simoni?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Simonihas sadly left us today, 22 May. Not just any date, the most Inter-related date of all.
Farewell Gigi, we'll miss you 👉 https://t.co/DWMZ6WINer #FCIM
— Inter (@Inter_en)
"His way of living, both in life and football, was never over the top. His football reflected that: it was humble, functional and capable of making the most of what he had on offer," said Inter in a statement.
"This is how we remember him: with his white hair, in our dugout, while he enjoyed the magic of Ronaldo with a smile on his face, enveloped by the fans' affection."
A midfielder in his playing days, he had three stints at Genoa, two at Napoli and Pisa also coached Lazio, among others.