‘You made us dream’: Kobe Bryant is mourned in Italy, where he first learned to play
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Lakers star Kobe Bryant pauses for a moment as confetti streams down at the Staples Center following his final game on April 13, 2016. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant, the teenager obtained by the Lakers in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets, takes part in an ad shoot for Adidas at Will Rogers State Beach. (Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant was already shooting his first commercial before taking his first shot for the Lakers. (Los Angeles Times)
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Laker rookie Kobe Bryant, 18, listens to coach Del Harris during a break in a 129-99 victory over the Washington Bullets at the Forum. Bryant scored 13 points. (Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant drives against Utah center Greg Ostertag in the Western Conference Finals at the Forum in Inglewood. Utah won 109-98 to give the Jazz a 3-0 lead in the series. (Paul Morse / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant is dejected after losing the ball late in the second half of Game 3 of the 1999 Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs at the Forum. The Lakers lost, 103-91, giving the Spurs a 3-0 advantage in the series. The Spurs went on to win the series 4-0. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant drives past Chris Webber in Game 4 of the first round of the 2000 Western Conference playoffs at Arco Arena in Sacramento. The Kings won, 101-88, but the Lakers went on to win the series in five games and advanced to face the Phoenix Suns in the next round. (Bob Galbraith / Associated Press)
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Despite Jason Kidd’s hand in his face, Kobe Bryant puts up the winning shot in the Lakers’ 97-96 victory over the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals at Staples Arena. The Lakers won the series, 4-1. (K.C. Alfred / Associated Press)
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Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had a moment to relax after winning their first title together in the 2000 NBA Finals. The two kicked back after a 116-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 6 at Staples Center. Bryant is holding the championship trophy and O’Neal has his Finals MVP trophy. (Paul Morse / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant performs on stage at the House of Blues in West Hollywood in 2000 during a celebration of the launch of his record label, Heads High Entertainment. (Clarence Williams / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant is swarmed by teammates Derek Fisher, Rick Fox and Shaquille O’Neal as he heads to the foul line in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Bryant scored 45 points as the Lakers beat the Spurs, 104-90, on their way to a sweep of the series. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant goes up for a dunk in the second quarter against the San Antonio Spurs during Game 3 of the 2001 Western Conference finals at Staples Center. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
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Lakers players Kobe Bryant, left, Lindsey Hunter and Shaquille O’Neal celebrate their NBA title victory over the New Jersey Nets on June 12, 2002. (Alex Gallardo / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant, with his wife, Vanessa, at his side, holds a news conference at Staples Center in 2003 to discuss accusations by a 19-year-old Colorado woman that he sexually assaulted her. He conceded he was guilty of adultery, but he declared he was innocent of charges of felonious sexual assault. The charges were later dropped. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
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Los Angeles Lakers Karl Malone, left, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Shaquille O’Neal before their preseason opener with the Los Angeles Clippers. It was Bryant’s first game since sexual assault charges were filed against him in Colorado. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant, left, looks at his defense attorney Pamela Mackey as he is advised by Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett during his felony sexual assault hearing in Eagle, Colo., on Aug. 6, 2003. (Barry Gutierrez / Associated Press)
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Hours after pleading not guilty to a felony sexual assault charge in Colorado, an exhausted Kobe Bryant is congratulated by teammate Derek Fisher after the Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 98-90, in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals at the Staples Center. Bryant scored 42 points as the Lakers tied the series at 2-2. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant writhes in pain after injuring his right ankle during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 13, 2005, in Los Angeles. Bryant was injured when he landed awkwardly on his right foot while going for a rebound under the Cavaliers’ basket and had to be helped off the court. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant and his new backcourt partner, William “Smush” Parker, during a 2005 preseason game against Utah at the Anaheim Pond. (Los Angeles Times)
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Lakers star Kobe Bryant stands next to coach Phil Jackson during a playoff game against the Phoenix Suns in April 2006. (Matt York / Associated Press)
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Kobe Bryant walks off the court with his wife, Vanessa, and daughter Natalia after scoring a career-high 81 points in a Lakers win over the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center on Jan. 22, 2006. (Noah Graham / NBAE/Getty Images)
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Lakers star Kobe Bryant scores in front of Toronto’s Matt Bonner on his way to scoring 81 points during the Lakers’ 122-104 victory on Jan. 22, 2006. (Matt A. Brown / Associated Press)
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Kobe Bryant celebrates the Lakers’ victory over the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant celebrates after winning his fourth NBA title following the Lakers’ win over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the 2009 NBA Finals. (Emmanuel Dunand /AFP/Getty Images)
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Kobe Bryant celebrates the Lakers’ Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant holds the NBA championship trophy during the team’s 2010 NBA title victory parade. (David McNew / Getty Images)
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Kobe Bryant shows off what he can do with a basketball during an event in Milan, Italy, in September 2011. (Luca Bruno / Associated Press)
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Lakers guard Kobe Bryant goes up for a shot over New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler during a game in December 2011. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
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U.S. players Kevin Durant, left, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant celebrate after winning the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. (Charles Krupa / Associated Press)
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Kobe Bryant writhes in pain after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during a game against the Golden State Warriors on April 12, 2013. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant warms up before playing against the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 8, 2013, in his first game back from a torn Achilles tendon. (Harry How / Getty Images)
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Kobe Bryant is congratulated by teammates after passing Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 14, 2014. (Jeff Wheeler / TNS)
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Lakers star Kobe Bryant goes to hug his family after his final NBA game on April 13, 2016. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant poses with his family after getting his jerseys retired before a game between the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center on Dec. 18, 2017. (Chris Carlson / Associated Press)
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Lakers legend Kobe Bryant walks off the court after his jersey retirement ceremony at the Staples Center in 2017. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant smiles after winning an Academy Award for best animated short film for “Dear Basketball” on March 4, 2018. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant shares a laugh with his daughter Gianna while attending a women’s basketball game between Long Beach State and Oregon on Dec. 14, 2019. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press)
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Lakers star Kobe Bryant watches a tribute video at Staples Center before the final game of his career on April 13, 2016. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
ROME — As the world mourns the death of Kobe Bryant, his first coach has recalled how the basketball legend cried when taken off during a game at the age of 7 because he was too good.
Gioacchino Fusacchia, 60, coached Bryant in Rieti, a small town in central Italy, when the late athlete’s father, Joe, played professional basketball following a career in the NBA.
“Kobe followed Joe everywhere, to matches, to training, and was already passionate about basketball,” said Fusacchia, who was in his mid-20s during the period the Bryants were in Rieti, from 1984 to 1986.
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Rieti was Joe’s first stop in a seven-year spell in Italy during which he played seasons with other Italian teams in the southern region of Calabria and the northern regions of Tuscany and Emilio-Romagna before returning to the United States.
“To say I coached Kobe is a big word. We really just let him play because he was younger than the other kids in the youth side, but you could see he was a pure talent, a free spirit,” Fusacchia said in a phone interview.
When Joe Bryant took Kobe to play in a tournament for children, Kobe proved far better than any other player on the court, despite being by far the youngest.
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“He didn’t pass to anyone and because he was so much better than the others, we took him off to restore some balance,” Fusacchia said. “Kobe ran to his mother and father in tears, thinking we were punishing him, before we gave him a prize for being the best player in the tournament.”
Complete coverage of the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others in a helicopter crash.
Giuseppe Cattani, 55, the president of Rieti’s team today, was a 20-year-old player then. Lucky enough to have played twice alongside Joe Bryant, he says it was like father, like son.
“Kobe’s dad didn’t pass either,” Cattani said in a phone interview. “He was incredible, an idol to us.”
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Cattani said that Kobe did benefit from Italian-style basketball coaching, which focuses on tactics. “Kobe later said he was lucky to have learned the fundamentals here in Italy, where there are lots of tactics, sometimes an exasperatingly large amount of tactics,” he said.
Today, Rieti’s team is planning to retire its No. 24 jersey, the number worn by Bryant when he retired from the Los Angeles Lakers. “Rieti has long been a basketball town, more than a soccer town, and we all grew up with the legend of Kobe,” said the team’s current general manager, Gianluca Martini, 33.
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A Lakers fan sobs at a memorial for Kobe Bryant outside the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans (from left) Alex Fultz, Eddy Rivas and Rene Alfaro gather with others near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center on Sunday after learning of his death. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Martin Yan, 35, of Diamond Bar stands beside of a mural depicting Kobe Bryant on Lebanon Street northeast of Staples Center. Fans are flocking to the area and having photos taken with the mural. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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The investigation continues Tuesday at the crash site in Calabasas where a helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others crashed, killing all aboard. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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The pilot was identified by colleagues as Ara Zobayan, 50, of Huntington Beach. (Bernadette McKeever)
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The Sikorsky S-76B helicopter (N72EX) that crashed in Calabasas. (Geraldine Petrovic / Polaris)
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A tribute to Kobe Bryant is projected on the Los Angeles Times building. (Los Angeles Times)
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A couple pay their respects at a memorial at home plate in honor of Orange Coast College head baseball coach John Altobelli, who perished with wife Keri, and daughter, Alyssa, in Sunday’s helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
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Uziel Colon takes a photo of his wife, Maria Home, and daughter Lena with a mural created to honor Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. The mural is by Art Gozukuchikyan on the side of VEM Exotic Rentals on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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People pay tribute to Kobe Bryant outside the gated community in Newport Coast where his family lives. (Don Leach / Los Angeles Times)
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Kinzo Beachem writes on the cement next to a makeshift memorial for former Lakers player Kobe Bryant at L.A. Live plaza in front of Staples Center. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather outside Staples Center in Los Angeles to mourn the death of Kobe Bryant after news spread that Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among the nine killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Emergency responders cover remains at the site of the helicopter crash that killed nine people including Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna on Sunday in Calabasas. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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From left, Christopher Pena, 33, and his wife Lizbeth, 30, of Pacoima, mourn with Jose Gutierrez, 33, of La Puente, near the site of the Calabasas helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Nancy Fernandez of Van Nuys lights a candle at a memorial for Kobe Bryant at De Anza Park in Calabasas on Sunday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans mourn near Staples Center after learning that Lakers great Kobe Bryant had died. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Mourners huddle at L.A. Live, across from Staples Center, site of the home court of Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A woman kneels at the makeshift memorial to Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A man kisses the ground as Lakers fans gather at a memorial to Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather around a makeshift memorial to Kobe Bryant at L.A. Live on Sunday evening. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Naima Smith, 37, and Swania Hogue, 48, both of Los Angeles, mourn the loss of Kobe Bryant at a vigil in Leimert Park on Sunday. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center after learning of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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A Lakers fan touches a memorial for Kobe Bryant outside the Lakers practice facility in El Segundo on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Mourners gather at the corner of Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street in Calabasas near the site of the helicopter crash. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Naima Smith, 37, lays flowers at a makeshift memorial during a vigil for Kobe Bryant in Leimert Park on Sunday. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans stand near a memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center on Sunday after learning of his death in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Naima Smith, 37, center, and other fans mourn the death of Kobe Bryant at a vigil in Leimert Park on Sunday. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans stand near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center on Sunday after learning of his death in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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A screen at L.A. Live on Sunday displays an image of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant following his death in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center after learning of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday. (Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center after learning of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center after learning of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center after learning of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Bryant Hirshman is hugged by his father, Craig, and mother, Elena, near the helicopter crash site in Calabasas that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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People gather on Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas near the site of a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Amanda Gordon and her husband, Philip, mourn the death of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant near the site of a helicopter crash Calabasas that claimed the lives of the Lakers legend, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Jianing Zhang, right, and his girlfriend Cathy Xiao gather with others near the helicopter crash site in Calabasas that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Large Kobe Bryant memorial signs are illuminated at L.A. Live as fans Aldo Luna and his son Ethan of Pomona gather with others paying their respects outside Staples Center. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Lakers fans mourn the death of Kobe Bryant at a makeshift memorial. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans post sticky notes paying tribute to Kobe Bryant on a mural of the former NBA superstar outside Shoe Palace on Melrose Avenue in L.A. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather at a makeshift memorial outside Staples Center to mourn Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather outside Staples Center at a makeshift memorial to Kobe Bryant. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant’s No. 8 and No. 24 Lakers jerseys hang in the rafters at Staples Center during preparations for the Grammy Awards on Sunday night. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“There is a real sense of sadness here with his passing,” he said in a phone interview. “It has been an honor to play on the court he played on and he made us all more proud of this town.”
The team posted a childhood photo of Bryant, adding: “You made us dream, feel and, above all, fall in love. It was in Rieti that you first started to make your little opponents cry. We’re proud to have been the first to see you tread the courts. We’ll never forget you, Kobe.”
On Monday, Italy’s basketball federation said a minute’s silence will be held before all games in Italy in all categories over the next week.
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“It’s a small but heartfelt and deserved gesture to honor the life and memory of Kobe Bryant, an absolute champion who always had Italy in his heart,” the federation president’s, Gianni Petrucci, said in a statement.
