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Arsenal and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori has shared his account of the day that his ‘best friend’ Edoardo Bove suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a Serie A match for Fiorentina, and says that if he is allowed to ‘continue living his dream, then why not?’.
Just over a year ago, at the beginning of December 2024, the Serie A match between Fiorentina and Inter was interrupted during the first-half as Bove, on loan from Roma at the time, collapsed on the pitch.
It was later confirmed that his heart had briefly stopped beating. Bove was rushed to hospital, was admitted to intensive care and was discharged 12 days later.
FLORENCE, ITALY – DECEMBER 1: Edoardo Bove of ACF Fiorentina is taken by ambulance during the Serie A match between Fiorentina and FC Internazionale at Stadio Artemio Franchi on December 1, 2024 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
Bove later had a removable defibrillator device fitted. In Italy, players are not permitted to play with a defibrillator, but that is not the case in various other countries across the world, including in England.
After a long year with no football, Bove has recently joined EFL Championship side Watford, where he is legally allowed to play, and has recently made his first competitive appearance since the unsettling scenes at the Stadio Franchi back in December 2024.
Calafiori recalls Bove collapse: ‘My mother called me in tears’
Next door to Watford’s training ground is Arsenal’s facility, where Calafiori, one of Bove’s closest friends, is based.
LEEDS, ENGLAND – JANUARY 31: Riccardo Calafiori of Arsenal arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Leeds United and Arsenal at Elland Road on January 31, 2026 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Calafiori recently appeared on the Supernova podcast, where he discussed the beginning of his career, his move to the Premier League and his daily life living in London.
Calafiori also discussed his experience of watching the Bove incident unfold.
“Edo is one of my best friends here. I mean within the football industry. (We know each other) from Roma, I joined at nine years old, he joined at 10. We’re the same age, actually he was born three days before me,” Calafiori said.
“I wasn’t watching the game, I remember my mum called me in tears. I turned on the TV and saw that the game had stopped. My mum called me: ‘I think it’s Edo, I think it’s Edo’. My mum wasn’t exactly clear-headed in that moment. It was horrible.
“I can imagine that for Tanya, his mother, and for his family it was much tougher.”
Edoardo Bove of ACF Fiorentina looks on during the Serie A match between Empoli and Fiorentina at Stadio Carlo Castellani on September 29, 2024 in Empoli, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
Bove is now back in professional football in the English second division with Watford.
“I have to say that I’ve seen him doing a lot better,” said Calafiori. “Obviously from the outside, you think for the first 10 days you’re just happy to be alive. But I also imagine for him, this was the first time that he was doing really, really well at Fiorentina and was starting to feel like a real player, his first time away from Roma.
“In the end, we live for football. If you can play football, then why wouldn’t you do it. I’ve seen him looking well, obviously he has to do a lot of tests and everything like that. His whole life changed, obviously, but if he can continue living his dream, then why not? He can play here.”