Fino Fini, known to all of us at the FIGC as “The Doctor”, has passed away at the age of 92.

Gabriele Gravina, the President of the FIGC, made the following statement: “It’s a sad day for Coverciano, the Italy National Team and Italian football. This is a terrible loss for our organisation, given what he did as the National Team’s Doctor, and then as Secretary of the Technical Sector; but also for the passion, enthusiasm and expertise that he brought to the table. I want to remember him by the way in which he took care of the exhibits in the Italian Football Museum, which at times bordered on meticulousness, with a great knowledge of the origins of each relic housed in the museum, the stories. It is this attitude, for which we sometimes criticised him in jest, that is his most important legacy: the only way to forge a glorious path in the future is to be have a good understanding of our history and to conserve it. Thanks for everything, and goodbye, Fino!”

“Fino Fini,” emphasised the Vice President of the Football Museum Foundation, Matteo Maranni, “was an important figure in Italian footballing history, who spread the word about our footballing culture. He was responsible for the creation and development of the biggest collection of artefacts from the history of the Italy National Team. A big thank you for everything he has done and everything he represented.”

Team Doctor for the Youth Teams from 1958 to 1979 and for the Italy National Team for twenty years from 1962 until 1982, Fino Fini was a key figure at the Coverciano Technical Centre, working as its Director for thirty years from 1967 until 1995, overseeing every detail, to the management of the FIGC’s Coaching School, serving as Secretary of the FIGC’s Technical Sector.

With the renovation of the Technical Centre ahead of the 1990 World Cup, he had the idea of building a museum that could host the relics of Azzurri history, from the early triumphs in the 1930s to the rebirth of the National Team in the late 1960s, up until our third World Cup win in Spain in 1982. The dream that became a reality with the help of donations from those who experienced those successes first-hand, with the Museum being inaugurated on 22 May 2000. 

The relationship between Doctor Fini and the players who appeared for the Italy National Teams has always remained very strong, united as they are by an unconditional love for the beautiful game. So strong was the bond between them that before the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Fabio Cannavaro promised Fino Fini that he would bring all the kit he wore in the final to the Museum. And he did just that.

With Doctor Fini’s passing, we have lost a charismatic, unique person, who was internationally renowned, as can be seen with his membership on the UEFA Technical Committee from 1972 until 1995 and on the Medical Committee at FIFA from 1978 until 1995. Of his many qualities, one stands out: his commitment to innovation, like with the Museum, as part of a community united by the love for football and the Azzurri.

Pictured in the images in colour, Fino Fini at the Football Museum on his 90th birthday. In the black-and-white photo, Doctor Fini (with a cap) together with Ferruccio Valcareggi and Helenio Herrera.