He was nicknamed the “re leone”, the lion king in Italian. Gianluca Vialli died on Friday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 58. He had been fighting the disease since 2017, which did not prevent him from winning as assistant to Italian coach Roberto Mancini Euro 2021 football with the Squadra Azzurra at Wembley, against the English. A final stroke of brilliance for the former striker accustomed to shaking the nets and the public.
‘We will remember you as a boy and a relentless centre-forward’, wrote the club on its website. During a rich career, the former international, a familiar face of transalpine football in the 1990s, distinguished himself above all in the jersey of the Genoese club, winning the title of Italian champion (1991) and the cups (1990) while reaching the Champions League final (1992).
The Champions League on the charts
Besides Sampdoria, Vialli had also worn the colors of Juventus (1992-1996) then Chelsea (1996-1999), where he continued to add lines to his list, including victories in the Champions League (1996) and in the UEFA Cup (1993) with the Bianconeri, and another Cup Cup with Chelsea in 1998. With the national team (59 caps, 16 goals), Vialli had obtained 3rd place in the World Cup in 1990 at home and had reached the semi-finals of Euro 88.
He had retired from his work in the Italian team in December 2022 to better fight his fight against cancer. “He’s an unwanted travel companion, but I must move on, […] without ever letting go, hoping that he gets tired and lets me live a long time still”Vialli reacted to his illness in a documentary broadcast by the Italian channel Rai in 2021. Immediately after the announcement of his death, the Twitter account of the quadruple world champions paid tribute to him: “Ciao Gianluca, you will be remembered forever.”