Jason Di Tullio has lost his battle with cancer. The CF Montreal assistant coach died overnight from Thursday to Friday. He was 38 years old
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Di Tullio had learned that he was suffering from glioblastoma in June 2021. This is the most aggressive form of brain cancer, the same that killed former pitcher Derek Aucoin.
The Montrealer underwent multiple surgeries to remove all traces of the cancer and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.
Last fall, we launched a crowdfunding campaign to help him financially and to raise funds to fight brain cancer.
This prompted more than 2,000 donations for a total of over $186,000.
Respondent
The club will pay tribute to Di Tullio in Saturday night’s game against New York City and over the next few days.
An intimate ceremony bringing together his family and friends will also be organized.
“It is with immense sadness that we mourn the loss of our colleague, teammate and friend who left far too soon,” said club president Gabriel Gervais.
“Jason was a great player and a great man,” the statement continued. His own energy was present until his last moments. He himself symbolically compared his fight to a soccer match.
“Jason was extremely brave and fought until the end. He will forever be etched in our minds and the memory of the Club as an iconic player and mentor. »
weakened
Despite the illness, Di Tullio used to go to Stade Saputo to watch the team’s games.
During his last visits, at the beginning of the summer, he had appeared thin and weak.
He was starting to have trouble moving on his own. The cancer was gaining ground. The former athlete had been in palliative care for some time.
“We could see that he wanted to be at practices and games. But we also see that this disease does damage. It was overwhelming even if we are talking about a little over a year between the diagnosis and today. I admire his courage, he never gave up,” recalled his former teammate Patrick Leduc.
You sang bleu
You could say that blue blood ran through the veins of Di Tullio, who always wore the Impact jersey during his playing career, which spanned from 2002 to 2007. He made his debut at the age of 18 and played 81 games in the blue-white-black jersey. He racked up one goal and four assists in 5,611 minutes.
Victim of several injuries, including knees, he was forced to retire very young. He then led a soccer school and joined the ranks of the Montreal Impact Academy as a coach in 2011.
He managed the Under-16 and Under-18 teams before joining the first-team coaching group in 2015 when his friend Mauro Biello was appointed as head coach.
When all the staff were let go in 2017, Di Tullio moved to Soccer Canada where he was assistant coach of the under-23 side in 2018 and 2019. During this period he was also technical director of FC Lanaudiere.
He returned to the Impact fold in 2019 to take charge of the under-17 team.
Wilfried Nancy made him his deputy when he succeeded Thierry Henry at the start of the 2021 season.