A former player of the Italian national team, the Olympic medalist, and the Champions League winner, Luca Giustolisi, passed away at the age of 53 after a severe illness.
He left his mark in Italian water polo as a player, a coach, a manager, and a psychologist. Giustolisi started his career at Trieste. After leaving Trieste, he played for Roma, Posillipo, and Pro Recco. He won practically all trophies in the competitions for the clubs.
Giustolisi won the LEN Euro Cup and the Cup Winners’ Cup with Roma. He clinched the Champions League titles playing for Posillipo and Pro Recco and was the Italian champion as a member of Recco.
Representing Italy, Giustolisi won the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and gold at the European Championships in Vienna the year before.
Luca Giustolisi at the 1996 Olympics
After ending his career as a player, Giustolisi stayed in water polo. He took different roles in several clubs. He was the manager of Trieste, then he coached Nervi and was a technical director of Torino 81.
This year, he joined the coaching staff of Brescia, as a psychologist.
Expressing its condolences for the untimely death of Luca Guistolisi, Brescia underlined that he was a person who was always joyful and available to everyone in the club. Brescia and many others noted that water polo will always remember him for the passion he put in and out of the pool and for his infinite competence.
