JUST before Reading kick off at Wolves tomorrow, Vito Mannone will look to the heavens and say a few words to the ‘two angels’ watching over him.
It is the touching way the Royals keeper remembers his parents, who, heartbreakingly, have both now passed away.
Mannone lost his dad Michelangelo to cancer in 2004 — something he says “still feels like yesterday”.
And, just two months ago, his mum Elisa died having spent four weeks in a coma following a stroke.
Emotions are still raw for Mannone, who turns 30 today. The Italian said: “Life goes on but being positive and having a smile is difficult. At times I have my moments and I don’t hide it. I miss my mum every day.
“It is still tough and it always will be. I know that from my experience when I lost my dad — it is 14 years ago but it still feels like yesterday.
“But football helped me through in the past and hopefully it’s going to get me through now.
“Football is my life and is my saviour. I say my prayers before I get out on the pitch and then again straight before kick off. I look up to the sky and pray for the two angels I’ve got to watch down and to protect me.
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“It’s something nice and I did it for my dad, even when mum was here. I believe it just gives you more strength.”
Mannone was only 16 years old and a youth player with Atalanta in Italy when his dad died, aged 54.
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He moved to England to join Arsenal the following year — and mum came, too.
Sitting in a coffee shop in his new home town of Ascot, Mannone explained: “It was very tough for her but she was a special figure for me.
“We had this special bond. I don’t have a big family so it was down to us to be brave.
“I came to England at a young age and she lived the first few years with me. She was vital to me. She watched my games and commented on them and I always listened to her.
“After that she was really happy because I was supported by another woman, my wife Fiorella, the love of my life. She knew then that I was all right in life.
“I used to call mum before going to bed at 9.30pm or 10pm, every single day. It was a simple gesture but a phone call for five, ten minutes makes a difference.”
Elisa suffered her stroke towards the end of November on the day Mannone was due to play for Reading at Bolton.
She had brain surgery but spent the rest of her life in a coma before passing away a week before Christmas at the age of 67.
He recalled: “I was going to play at Bolton but she didn’t feel well and I had to rush to Italy and go to the hospital. Thankfully I just met her before the operation and she was awake and recognised me.
“We hugged each other and it was one of the last few moments where I had the chance to see her.
“She could talk to me for five minutes but after the operation she was in a coma so I never had the chance to speak to her.
“We were still hopeful she would wake up and I knew she wouldn’t be happy to wake up and see me next to a hospital bed instead of on the pitch, so that’s why I kept strong and kept playing.
“But after every game I was travelling to Italy, seeing her, travelling back, training, playing and I did it for almost a month with my wife. It wasn’t easy but it was necessary for us to be by her bedside and I hope she felt it.”
Mannone is extremely thankful to Reading’s “amazing” manager Jaap Stam for how the Dutchman supported him throughout his mum’s illness.
The ex-Sunderland stopper, who joined the Royals for £2million last summer, said: “He has been the manager that I needed. He understood straight away the situation.”
Stam led the Royals to the play-off final last season, but is under pressure after a run of one win in 14 Championship games left the club just four points above the bottom three.
Mannone insisted: “Sometimes when things aren’t going your way, you need to wait and not get rid of the manager.
“If he did it last year, why not another time?”
But the rigours of a relegation battle do not compare to the personal tragedies the Italian has suffered.
Mannone added: “Once you have this sort of experience it helps you as a man and it puts everything in perspective.”
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