AC Milan to honour Kobe Bryant during Coppa Italia clash

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The Italian football club, AC Milan, has revealed plans to honour their boyhood supporter and NBA legend, Kobe Bryant who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday with his 13-year-old daughter Gigi and seven others.

Before his death, the 41-year-old was a football fan who grew up supporting AC Milan with Marco van Basten his idol.

In March 2016, Kobe Bryant revealed his love for football. He said; “I grew up a huge AC Milan fan. Marco van Basten was my favourite player. [Frank] Rijkaard, [Ruud] Gullit, and you know [Paolo] Maldini was just getting started, and [Franco] Baresi”.

In memory of the Los Angeles Lakers legend, AC Milan will wear black armbands for their Coppa Italia quarter-final against Torino on Tuesday night. There will also be tributes before the club.

A statement from the club read “In agreement with @SerieA, tonight #ACMilan will wear the black armband in memory of Kobe Bryant, who died in a tragic helicopter crash together with his daughter Gianna Maria and 7 other victims,’ the club tweeted. ‘The whole San Siro will also pay a tribute just a few minutes away from kick-off”.