Goodbye to Marco Cacciatori. A tumor took him away from the football that mattered

Mourning in the world of football: former striker Marco Cacciatori passed away today, December 26, at the age of 68. He had been ill for some time and was hospitalized at the Apuan hospital in Massa (Massa-Carrara). The news was given by Voce Apuana.

After starting his career spent exclusively in Serie D, and after having scored 25 goals in 34 games in Carrarese in the 1977-1978 season, leading the Apuans to victory in the championship, in the summer of 1978 Cacciatori made a triple leap in category, passing at Perugia in the top flight.

The one led by Ilario Castagner was the team of miracles, capable of taking second place in the championship, behind the championship-winning Milan, without even losing a match. His debut in the top flight was unforgettable for the striker originally from Carrara: on 8 October 1978, the second day in Milan against Inter, Cacciatori scored the final 1-1 goal four minutes from the final whistle after the goal scored by Pasinato in the 31st minute. That will be the only goal of the season, peppered with thirteen other appearances in as many matches.

The 1-1 goal against Inter in the 1978-89 Serie A championship

The following year Cacciatori dropped down in category and went to play in Vicenza, having just been relegated to the cadets, in the deal that brought Paolo Rossi to Umbria. He only plays two matches with the red and whites, then, dfter feeling ill during training, he is diagnosed with testicular cancer. After three years of treatment he resumed his competitive activity in the 1983-1984 season with Carrarese, in Serie C1, a championship in which he scored 14 goals in 29 matches. His career continued between C1 and C2, ending at the age of thirty-five among the amateurs with Pietrasanta, after having played for Reggiana, Montevarchi, Sarzanese and Pistoiese.

A striker with a powerful left foot and an imperious aerial delivery, Cacciatori was one of the symbols of Carrarese, a team with which he wrote indelible pages of football history playing in three different periods. He has 60 league goals to his credit with the yellow and blue shirt scored in 157 matches.

⚫️ Carrarese Calcio 1908, the city of Carrara and the world of football today mourn the passing of , a great fighter, on the field and in life.

Hello, bomber

The press release → https://t.co/nywVe3f1Sd#RestInPeace pic.twitter.com/dtEm73oylY

— Carrarese Calcio (@CarrareseCalcio)
December 26, 2024

After retiring, Cacciatori also had to face the bureaucratic difficulties in obtaining an athlete’s pension, a problem solved thanks to the intervention of the Players Association. Tomorrow, Friday 27 December, the body will be displayed in the Noa morgue from 9.30am to 3.30pm, before the cremation ceremony. He leaves behind his wife Daniela and his son Emanuele.