Farewell to a Legend: Totò Schillaci’s Last Goodbye Celebrated by Thousands in Palermo

The standard-bearer of a football that has died out, a shy boy who with his popular epic, and also in his post-career commitment, with the football school, has traced a clear path, that of honest Palermo, without shortcuts, a city “of young people who want to be free and who can change,” as stated by the city’s archbishop, Corrado Lorefice, during the blessing of the body. On the day of his funeral, thousands of Palermitans wanted to say goodbye in the cathedral, alongside his family and friends. Dozens and dozens of cameras inside and outside the cathedral, about a thousand people inside, many more outside, on the steps, where many tourists, including foreigners, joined the Palermitans and Sicilians. There were also chants from the stadium and applause; the participation was overwhelmingly strong. If death is the ultimate truth of life, Schillaci was not simply a legendary footballer known worldwide, but a do-gooder who sowed and traced a virtuous path of beauty and freedom, as emphasized by Archbishop Lorefice: “Like Pino Puglisi, who rests in this cathedral, Totò Schillaci also tells us that we can and must change this city. We remember Totò for his body reaching out for joy, his eyes, in that 1990. But then Schillaci continued to give his body so that others could have free bodies; he remained one of us, he thought about his life remembering his origins, he thought of it as a gift so that new generations could have a beautiful perspective, so that young people could be free, against those who instead want them as slaves. I want to thank him for this great work of his, desired, conscious, to be on the road with the young, so that they could know the way of good and freedom. We commend him to the mercy of God. We say goodbye, we will see each other in God, in the true fullness of life.” In the funeral homily, Monsignor Filippo Sarullo, the parish priest of the cathedral, addressed Schillaci, close to the match of eternity: “The Father has called you for the match of the heart, which will never end, He has made you enter the most beautiful team in the world, called Paradise.” In the church were present former teammates, including national team members Gigi De Agostini and Beppe Bergomi, Gabriele Gravina and Antonio Matarrese, president and former president of the Figc, the mayor of Palermo Roberto Lagalla, regional minister Edy Tamajo representing governor Schifani, and a delegation from Palermo football, led by president Dario Mirri and Francesco Di Mariano, the Rosanero forward and Schillaci’s nephew. The long goodbye to the center-forward from the Cep neighborhood began this morning, in the streets of his hometown, where his father Mimmo, and some of his brothers and cousins still live today. The funeral procession, which also passed by the church of San Giovanni Apostolo and Schillaci’s sports center, the Ribolla, was greeted by a moved crowd, including students from the “Giuliana Saladino” comprehensive institute. Many cried and chanted stadium chants and “Notti Magiche,” by Gianna Nannini and Edoardo Bennato, the historic soundtrack of Italia ’90. It is the same emotion that has swept through the city in recent days and has touched Totò’s family. His daughter Nicole also remembered him: “He will always remain in my heart – her words – I saw how much pain he suffered. I miss him so much, but at least he has stopped suffering. For me, he was a normal person, certainly one to be proud of, but normal, very kind, humble and with a big heart.”