When Bernardo Corradi scored a penalty to give the Montreal Impact the lead in an ultimately losing effort against FC Dallas, he ran straight to his head coach Jesse Marsch and told him, "Thank you. Thank you for allowing me to score a goal for my friend."
GOAL: Corradi converts penalty
The death of Italian Serie B player Piermario Morosini during Saturday’s Pescara-Livorno match shocked the soccer world, but for Corradi, it wasn’t just the loss of a colleague or a fellow Italian. The Impact striker had to say a definitive goodbye to a man he had gotten to know and love.
“It was a strange day for me because I lost one of my friends,” Corradi told MLSSoccer.com, his voice breaking. “We played one year together [with Udinese], and he used to come to my place to have dinner, because I knew that he had a strange story. He lost his parents, his brother, and he was this really great guy. He was always smiling, even with his difficult life.
“When you’re speaking about a 25-year-old guy, losing his life on the field… it’s incredible.”
The news of Morosini’s passing wiped the smile off the face of Corradi, who usually is a cheerful figure in the Montreal dressing room. There are no right or wrong decisions for a player in such a situation, but Marsch suggested Corradi should pay tribute to his friend with his feet, which he duly did, but there is no question Morosini is already missed.
“I always smile, I’m always happy, and they asked me why I was a little bit strange today,” Corradi explained. “I told them the reason, and Jesse came to me and asked me to play for him. I scored, but, you know… it’s another story.”
Thankfully, Corradi has been able to count on the support of his comrades who, it seems, have tried as much as possible to ease the pain.
“I hoped I would score a goal just for him. All my teammates today, everybody was shocked that, you know… his life…”
There are times when no words suffice. Times like these.
