Former Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli has been left shocked by Davide Pastori's passing.

The Fiorentina captain was found by his teammates in the morning after a reported heart attack.

"The death of a young man always makes us lose some of our innocence, but in this case I feel that I have lost something more," wrote Prandelli.

“The memories I have of Davide as an athlete and a man will remain private. I keep them within my heart, which is crying right now.

“I am profoundly shocked, I feel a huge void inside me. I send an embrace to his family, fully aware that in this moment the pain is so strong that everything around you burns and words of comfort do not exist."

Prandelli was the Coach of Fiorentina when his wife died of cancer in 2007.