On New Year's Eve, in the hospital of Sassari, after a long illness, one of the absolute protagonists of the sporting, commercial and social life of Porto Torres and beyond passed away: Gianni Andolfi.
He was 91 years old and was born in Naples, but at the age of 18 he moved to Porto Torres, where he began to work hard as an ice cream maker. Business was going well and he thus became the manager of some businesses, such as a bar in Ittiri and the Cristallo bar in Porto Torres, which he sold to the current owner in the early 1960s. At the same time opening the famous Andolfi jewelry store, in Corso Vittorio Emanuele, right in the centre. For several decades one of the most flourishing businesses in the city, still managed by his daughter Tiziana.
But it is above all in sport that Gianni Andolfi made his name throughout the island. Always a football enthusiast and manager, in 1973 he founded Turris.
A team that will immediately win two championships moving to the First Category, with one of the strongest youth sectors in Sardinia. In which talents who made a name for themselves in Sardinian football grew: such as stopper Giancarlo Carboni, for many years in Serie C in Olbia, midfielder Gianmario Coghene, the unforgettable Torres midfielder, Alessandro Frau, half striker, who played in Serie A with Zeman's Roma, Fabio Chessa, midfielder, captain of Torres for many years. Just to name a few.
Gianni Andolfi for many years was the president of those formidable blue-and-whites, who considered him as a father. Never a rude or out of place word, Andolfi was a person who strongly believed in education, discipline and sporting values. A point of reference for all players and collaborators.
In the meantime he had married Mrs. Cesira Maddau. The couple had 7 children, 5 of whom were boys. All footballers.
Gennarino, the eldest (born in 1960), technician and formidable header, played as a protagonist as well as in Turris, Macomer, Ittiri and Luras, scoring an avalanche of goals. The other son Massimo, a very gifted center forward, after Turris played in Serie D in Porto Torres, Ilva and Tharros. Gavino (1961), complete midfielder, was one of the most faithful to the Turrisina cause, with small parentheses, including a positive one in Bonorva. In the red and white Bonorvesi, his other son Alessandro played profitably as a libero, who also wore the black and white shirt of Luras. Marcello, the youngest, only played a few championships with Turris. A life for sport: this is the slogan that could be coined for the Andolfi family.
