Highlights

Italy laps up emotion of Schumacher's retirement

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-09-12 08:24

On Sunday, Italians got the emotion they had always wanted from Schumacher -- the pictures of his wife Corinna in tears and receiving a hug from Ferrari's team boss Jean Todt were accompanied by a wedding day photograph of the happy couple.

"For you he is a legend, for me he is a husband," Corinna was quoted by Corriere della Sera in an article recounting their relationship.

Schumacher said on Sunday his decision was based on a desire to go out at the top, but Gazzetta also focused on his warm words for his family.

"I decided with Corinna," was one headline in the newspaper's coverage.

Gazzetta's main editorial on Schumacher's retirement began: "He did not cry, but he wasn't far off.

"It was in that moment, when a man confronts what he has inside, that Michael Schumacher could hardly find his voice," wrote columnist Pino Allievi.

Once the emotion of Sunday's announcement fades, it will be Schumacher's record seven world titles that will be remembered most by Italians and has assured the man from Huerth-Hermuelheim of a place in the country's sporting history.