Riccardo Garrone, president of Erg and of Sampdoria, died in Genoa after a long illness at the age of 76. A prominent entrepreneurial figure, several times president of the local Confindustria, with secular political sympathies, he had given great impetus to Erg (today in the hands of his sons) and had bought the Sampdoria football team in 2002.
Just a well-known footballer, Antonio Cassano who left Sampdoria years ago after a furious controversy with Garrone, bitterly commented: “Today is one of the saddest days of my life for me. I will always carry Garrone in my heart”
