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March 12, 2018

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Fiorentina honors Astori with 1-0 Benevento win

Defender Vitor Hugo鈥檚 thumping header gave Fiorentina a 1-0 win over Benevento in an emotional Serie A encounter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, the home side鈥檚 first game since the sudden death of its captain Davide Astori a week ago.

The funeral for Astori, who was said by authorities in Udine to have died of a cardiac arrest ahead of last Sunday鈥檚 scheduled game against Udinese, was held on Thursday amid a huge outpouring of grief from fans, players and coaches. Before kickoff, the players warmed up in shirts bearing the 31-year-old鈥檚 No. 13, and the teams and officials gathered in the center circle for a minute鈥檚 silence which was only broken by the whirr of photographers鈥 cameras. As tears flowed down the cheeks of fans in the stands, balloons in violet and white were released into the air, and in the 13th minute the ball was put out of play as Fiorentina fans raised flags and engaged in a minute of applause. Brazilian Hugo celebrated the 25th-minute goal, his first for Fiorentina, by holding up a t-shirt bearing an image of fellow defender Astori before standing in front of it and saluting.


 

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