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Gianluca Vialli, who had been battling pancreatic cancer for several years, has died at the age of 58, his former club Sampdoria Genoa announced on Friday. The former Italian international, who made the heyday of Juventus Turin, was coach Roberto Mancini’s assistant, his teammate at the “Samp”, during the victory of the Nazionale at the Euro in 2021.
A great goalscorer is gone: Gianluca Vialli, who died at the age of 58 after pancreatic cancer, shook the nets with Sampdoria, Juventus and Chelsea, building an exceptional record before support his friend Roberto Mancini until the Italian coronation at the Euro in 2021.
The announcement on Friday of the death of the man who was nicknamed “Lucagol” or “Il Re Leone” (the Lion King) aroused a wave of emotion in the world of football and in Italy, especially among his former clubs.
“Goodbye Gianluca, we will always remember you,” wrote the Italian national federation on its Twitter account.
“We will remember you as a boy and a relentless centre-forward,” Sampdoria Genoa reacted on their website. “We will not forget your 141 goals [avec la Sampdoria], your aerial kicks, your cashmere shirts, your earring, your platinum blonde hair, your Ultras bomber jacket. You gave us so much.”
The Italian federation has announced the holding of a minute of silence in all Italian stadiums this weekend.
The ex-international (59 caps, 16 goals) distinguished himself above all in club, winning the three European Cups that existed at the time, the Champions League (1996), the Cup Cup (1990, 1998 ) and the UEFA Cup (1993).
“So many people will miss you. A legend for us and for all of football”, also reacted the Chelsea club, where he was a player and coach.
Gianluca Vialli: a national title with Samp’ and a C1 with Juventus
As a technician, his apotheosis came late: he joined the management of Mancini’s Nazionale and supported his former teammate and alter ego at Samp during the Italian coronation at the Euro in 2021, when he was already sick.
“He’s an unwanted travel companion, but I have to move on,” Vialli said of the disease in a documentary broadcast by Rai.
He who has never won a title in the jersey of Italy experienced this supreme happiness at the Euro alongside Roberto Mancini, who had entrusted him with the post of head of the Italian delegation.
In tears, the two men had shared a long embrace at the final whistle, after the victorious penalty shoot-out against England. The image had gone around the world and sealed their friendship a little more.
Both born in 1964, “i gemelli del gol” (the twins of the goal) made the heyday of the Luigi-Ferraris stadium in Genoa. Mancini in construction, Vialli in finishing, the duo notably offered a European Cup Winners’ Cup (1990), a national title (1990-1991) and a C1 final at Sampdoria.
After 321 matches and 141 goals, Vialli left Samp and Mancini headed for Turin. The child of Cremona from a wealthy family, who grew up in a castle, joined Juve in 1992 for a record sum at the time (the equivalent of 16.5 million euros).
With the “Old Lady”, he added to his record a UEFA Cup (1993), alongside Roberto Baggio, and a Champions League (1996).
“Little Italy” à Chelsea
A period, however, darkened a posteriori by the match-fixing and doping trials against Juve. As early as 1998, AS Roma coach Zdenek Zeman was surprised at the increase in muscle mass of Alessandro Del Piero and Vialli.
“Creatine, yes, we took it for a few months. Like everyone else. Legally,” swept Gianluca Vialli in an interview in 2018 with Corriere della Sera.
While few Italian players left Serie A at the time, he joined England in 1996 and made Chelsea a “Little Italy” with compatriots Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Di Matteo. Cup Winners’ Cup, FA Cup, League Cup, his trophy cabinet is still filling up.
His love affair with the Blues continues on the bench, where he even held the position of player-coach for a time.
Coach Vialli won four trophies including a Cup, but was sacked after two seasons, due to poor results and conflicting relationships with some players.
After a short experience at Watford, he finds Italy and his friend Mancini. Until this embrace of a July 2021 evening. “There was love, friendship, fear too […] summarizes Vialli. “Those tears were filled with so many things.”
With AFP
