The players and supporters of ACF Fiorentina gave Davide Astori a moving sendoff during the 13th minute of their match against Benevento, the first match after Astori's tragic death. Stars of Italian football and thousands of Fiorentina fans have gathered at the Santa Croce church in Florence for the funeral of captain Davide Astori. ESPN FC's Gabriele Marcotti discusses the reaction to the death of Fiorentina captain Davide Astori across the footballing world. Serie A commissioner Giovanni Malago speaks on the decision to postpone Sunday's Serie A and Serie B matches following the death of Fiorentina captain Davide Astori.
Fiorentina are to rename their training centre after late club captain Davide Astori.
Astori died in his sleep a fortnight ago at the age of 31, ahead of Fiorentina's Serie A game at Udinese. The remainder of that weekend's Serie A fixtures were postponed and his funeral took place nine days ago.
As a degree of normality slowly returns at the club and in Italian football, Fiorentina have decided to rename their Campini sports centre, adjacent to the Stadio Franchi, in Astori's memory.
"We've made this decision because that was his home," club president Mario Cognigni told Mediaset. "He went there every day for training and used to spend time there with his family too.
"We believe that honouring him in this way is the right thing to do so the training ground will now be called Centro Sportivo Davide Astori. We will do it as soon as possible."
The Viola have won their two Serie A fixtures following Astori's death, dedicating goals and victories to their former captain.
However, they now want a more lasting memorial in Astori's honour, as Cognigni explained.
"It's the culmination of an initiative that we've agreed with Davide's family because we feel that what he considered his home should be named after him -- his memory needs to remain with us every day, not just after games," Cognigni said on the Serie A club's website after their 2-1 win at Torino on Sunday.
Ben Gladwell reports on Serie A, the Italian national team and the Bundesliga for ESPN FC, UEFA and the Press Association. @UEFAcomBenG.
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Source: espn.co.uk