Hours of concern for Totò Schillaci. The star of Italia ’90 is hospitalized in the Pneumology department of the Civic Hospital in Palermo in serious condition. The former player, hero of the “magic nights,” has been undergoing treatment for a tumor for several years and has also undergone surgeries. He was in therapy at the La Maddalena Clinic and has been at the local hospital since last night. Confirmation of his condition was posted on his social profile: “Totò is in stable condition and is being monitored by a team of doctors day and night. Stay strong, Totò.”
The family wrote this on Instagram due to “the countless calls from many news outlets and the bad news circulating.” They then wished for his recovery, “Stay strong, Totò.” Schillaci, 59, has already undergone two surgeries on his colon and has shared his experience with illness, therapies, and the fear at the time of diagnosis, and how the disease marked him. A disease he had defeated but which now seems to have reappeared.
While playing the most important match of his life, Italians who followed him wearing the National Team jersey and then those of Messina, Juventus, Inter, and Jubilo Iwata continue to leave messages of encouragement and affection for the great champion on social media.
The post from Totò Schillaci’s family (Instagram)
The snapshots of Italia ’90 and the wish: “Stay strong, Totò”
Hugging after the goal, then close together before stepping onto the field wearing the blue jersey during the “magic nights.” The snapshots of Totò Schillaci and Roberto Baggio shared on the bomber’s social page, who is currently hospitalized, are accompanied by the encouraging phrase: “Stay strong, Totò.” The wishes for the striker who made fans dream during Italy’s last World Cup on home soil come from the highly followed fan page of Roberto Baggio, not directly from the former number ten.
The goals of the “magic nights”
The goals scored during the “magic nights” of Italia ’90 – immortalized by the song of Gianna Nannini and Edoardo Bennato – have brought Totò Schillaci, from San Giovanni Apostolo, Palermo, into the history of Italian football. The Italy team, coached by Azeglio Vicini, aimed for the final, driven by the goals of a Sicilian boy who was called as a reserve and became a starter through his scoring. One goal after another propelled Vicini’s Azzurri to within eleven meters of the World Cup final.
Totò Schillaci scores against England during Italia ’90 (Ansa)
The dream shattered against Argentina led by Maradona, who defeated the Azzurri on penalties in the Naples semi-final. From that unfortunate World Cup for the Azzurri – we finished third – Totò was the top scorer. In 1990, he even finished second in the Ballon d’Or rankings. “We could have won, but it went the way it did,” he always said, reminiscing about those days.
“It was a team of great champions, Baggio, Baresi, Vialli, Maldini, Ancelotti – he said – and I had the honor of playing with them. It was an important environment; I was proud because there weren’t many Sicilians in the national team.”
“I fought tooth and nail to earn a starting spot in the Azzurri; that’s all I thought about. Did Italians fall in love with me? I didn’t understand that enthusiasm; I discovered it later, and I still see it today. Wherever I go, people recognize me and celebrate me, they show me videos and want me to tell stories; people remember Italia ’90 and ask me to recreate those wild eyes!” Schillaci keeps many memories from those days, one above all.
“In the third-place match against England, I was fouled in the box. Baggio told me: you take the penalty; that way, you’ll win the goal scorer title. An unexpected gift.” Yet there were rumors that he had had a fight with Baggio…
Life and career
Born on December 1, 1964, in Palermo and raised in the popular neighborhood of San Giovanni Apostolo, he started playing for the local team that represented the namesake municipal company in Palermo.
In 1982, he was signed by Messina, in Serie C2. During the 1985-86 season, he contributed with 11 goals to the team’s promotion to Serie B. His coach Franco Scoglio said of him: “He had a desire to score goals that I have never seen in anyone.”
From Messina, he moved on to Juventus, Inter, and Jubilo Iwata (Japan), where he became an idol.
The players of Italia ’90 received at the Quirinale (Ansa)
He came from a modest family, with three brothers and a sister. His father, who was a bricklayer, was always his biggest fan and accompanied him everywhere to enable him to play. He worked as a tire dealer, a pastry shop helper, and a street vendor. Until he was recruited into Messina.
Schillaci was at the Oncological Clinic La Maddalena when, on January 16, 2023, the boss Messina Denaro was arrested. “It was 8:15 in the morning – he recounted – I was waiting for my check-up because I was under the care of doctors Mezzatesta and Mandalà. I had just finished breakfast at the bar, and in a moment, I found myself surrounded by cloaked people with their weapons drawn. I thought it was an attack. Then the carabinieri identified themselves, but for a moment, I and those around me were scared; there was confusion.”
The former striker also managed a sports center for youth for several years. “I love Palermo, and I find it very annoying to see it associated only with crime because it has so many beautiful things. We need to invest in neighborhoods, that’s for sure, taking young people off the streets. I took over the sports center, Louis Ribolla, in a popular area, to give back something of what the city has given me,” he said.
In 2004, he participated in the reality show Isola dei famosi, and a year ago, he participated with his wife Barbara in the program Pechino Express. Just before that, he had undergone two surgeries for cancer. “The show – he recounted – was a revenge against the disease that made me suffer tremendously.”
Totò Schillaci on Isola dei famosi in 2004 (LaPresse)