Former Inter coach Luigi Simoni has been hospitalized and is deemed to be in a critical condition following an acute illness he contracted while in his home in San Piero a Grado in province of Pisa, Italian media outlet FcInterNews report.
The 80-year old has been put in the intensive care unit of the Cisanello hospital and is under constant observation by the healthcare staff whilst also having his closest family and friends surround him.
Simoni was appointed the coach of Inter ahead of the 1997/1998 season, which he guided to a win in the UEFA Cup after a 3-0 win against Lazio in Parc des Prince stadium in Paris, as well as finishing second in the league after a series of controversial decisions went against Inter and in favor of Juventus.
The following season, Simoni was sacked by then President Massimo Moratti, following a poor start to the season, on the same day he was awarded the award for the best coach in the Serie A for the previous season.
Simoni was sacked only 5 days after Inter defeated Real Madrid 3-1 at home at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and the day after having defeated Salernitana in the Serie A. But 5 wins and 2 draws and 4 losses in 11 games was not deemed as sufficient by Moratti who replaced him with Mircea Lucescu.
