Giacomo Ghiardelli

Giacomo Ghiardelli, known to friends and teammates as Mino, was an Italian footballer from Casale Monferrato in Piedmont who died on 28 September 2026 at the age of 22 after a long illness. A defensive minded midfielder, he built a short career through the Juventus youth system, Alessandria Primavera and Asti in Serie D, and was remembered across Piedmontese football for his work rate and courage.

Born on 15 February 2004 in Casale Monferrato, Ghiardelli began playing as a boy and passed through the Juventus youth academy, a formative stage that Italian sports media later highlighted as an important chapter in his development. He continued with Alessandria, progressing through that club's youth sides up to the Primavera level, before moving to Asti in August 2023. With the biancorossi he stepped into Serie D, Italy's fourth tier, joined the first team and was later confirmed for the 2024-25 season. Illness then interrupted his path; Transfermarkt lists him as unattached from July 2025.

Ghiardelli never became a household name outside Piedmont's football community. What defined him, in the accounts that followed his death, was the quiet determination of a midfielder who won the ball back, closed space and supported teammates rather than chasing personal statistics. He wore the number 46 shirt for Asti, and that jersey became a symbol of solidarity when his former clubs met again in the final days of his life.

On Sunday 27 September 2026, Alessandria and Asti faced each other in Serie D at the Stadio Moccagatta. Supporters in the Gradinata Nord hung a banner reading Forza Mino, while Asti captain and goalkeeper Silvio Brustolin displayed Ghiardelli's number 46 shirt in a pre match tribute. The following morning, 28 September, news broke that he had died. Alessandria Calcio wrote Vola alto Mino, sempre nei nostri cuori, and ASD Asti expressed the same grief, describing a loss that left the whole community without words. President Antonio Barani and players, staff and fans from both clubs joined the family in mourning.

The specific nature of Ghiardelli's illness was not made public. At 22, his playing life had only begun. He leaves the memory of a Casalese midfielder who rose through Juventus and Alessandria, found a home at Asti in Serie D, and was held close by the football community that had watched him grow.