Antonio Conte pulls out of Tottenham press conference as he mourns Gianluca Vialli

Antonio Conte has canceled his press conference ahead of Tottenham’s FA Cup tie with Portsmouth as he mourns the loss of his former Juventus teammate Gianluca Vialli.

The former Italy and Chelsea striker passed away last night at the age of 58 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Conte was due to face the media on Friday afternoon, but Tottenham assistant coach Cristian Stellini will attend the press conference in his place.

Antonio Conte has canceled his press conference ahead of Tottenham’s FA Cup tie with Portsmouth following the death of Gianluca Vialli.

Italians Conte (circled on the left) and Vialli (circled on the right) played together for Juventus in the 1990s

Although the Italians played together at Juventus, they never matched up for the national team, with Conte making his debut after Vialli had finished his international career.

Conte, 53, enjoyed a long spell at Juventus between 1991 and 2004, while Vialli joined him in Turin to spend four years at the club between 1992 and 1996.

In fact, Vialli was captain of Juventus during the 1995-96 season and when he left Serie A at the end of that season, it was Conte who took the armband from him.

The Italians played on a team that won the UEFA Cup in 1993, a Serie A title and the Coppa Italia in 1995, and the Champions League in 1996.

Gianluca Vialli, who led Juventus to Champions League glory in 1996, has died aged 58

After Vialli’s time at Juve came to an end, he ended his playing career at Chelsea before moving to the management of Stamford Bridge, where Conte would end up more than 15 years later.

The now Spurs boss joined the Blues after his role with the national team in 2016, while Vialli took over full-time in 1999 after a spell as player-manager.

Spurs host Portsmouth in the FA Cup third round on Saturday in what will be an emotional day for Conte, who will be on the touchline just 24 hours after Vialli’s death was announced.

He’ll be hoping his team can build on Wednesday night’s 4-0 demolition of Crystal Palace, in which Harry Kane got a brace.

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