Franco Zuccalà always had a smile for everyone. Originally from Catania, with a long career in Rai, he passed away on the night between 29 and 30 November at the age of 83.
He had also worked in the Roman editorial office of the Gazzetta dello Sport, in addition to Il Giornale and Tuttosport, since 2000 he had been a columnist for the Italpress news agency. Born on September 22, 1940, he worked in newspapers, on radio and on television. Among which also Telestar and Antenna Sicilia with Pippo Baudo, then at Odeon. But he achieved notoriety with Rai with his reports for La Domenica Sportiva, Novantesimo Minuto, Il Processo del Monday and Tg1.
Since 1958 he has followed all the most important sporting events, but in his career there was not only space for sport: he interviewed people such as Nelson Mandela, Henry Kissinger (who passed away today), Gianni Agnelli, Sophia Loren as well as the greatest football champions, from Pelè to Diego Armando Maradona, from Johan Cruijff to Franz Beckenbauer. He wrote «Il Re di Broccolino», «Champions forever», «Brividi Mondiali» and collaborated in the creation of numerous essays such as «One hundred years of Serie A» and made 19 videocassettes on football.
In 2014, nine years ago, former captain Gianluigi Buffon and former coach Cesare Prandelli gave him the number 50 national team shirt for his half-century following the Azzurri. For Zuccalà it was not the only recognition. He was also awarded the «Guirlande d’honneur» of the Federation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs for his long career and an «Honoris Causa» degree in «Telecommunication Science» from Columbia University in New York.
When we met him at San Siro, and exchanged some impressions with him about today’s football and the champions of the future, he never said a word out of place. She always spoke to her interlocutor in calm tones, an education from another era. A gentleman and an example for those who decided to embark on an adventure in the world of journalism.
2023-11-30 13:01:25
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