2024-09-18 12:37:18
The world of football is in mourning. The former Italian national team striker Salvatore Toto Schillacitop scorer at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, died at age 59. Schillaci was suffering from a colon cancer and was admitted to intensive care at the Civic Hospital of Palermo.
This was announced by the Italian Federation (FIGC), which highlighted in a statement that Schillaci was a “player – symbol of the 1990 World Cup in Italy” y ordered that a minute of silence be held in his memory in All matches played in the country from this Wednesday to next Sunday.
“His goal celebrationsturned into a symbol of collective joywill remain forever in legacy of Italian football“, added FIGC President Grabriele Gravina.
For their part, Inter Milan – the club where the striker played between 1992 and 1994 – stressed that Schillaci “made an entire country dream during the magical nights of the 1990 World Cup.”
In addition to Inter and after training and making his professional debut at Messina, on his native island of Sicily, Schillaci wore the shirt of the Juventus from 1989 to 1992.
“At Juve we were lucky enough to be touched by him before the whole of Italy did so in that incredible summer of 1990, enchanted by his wonderful and energetic celebrations,” recalled the Piedmontese club, with whom Schillaci won the UEFA Cup in 1990.
He had his moment of glory at the World Cup held on Italian soil, where he finished as top scorer with six goals that led the ‘Squadra Azzurra’ to the semi-finals of the tournament, where they lost on penalties (1-1 after extra time, 4-3 on penalties) to Diego Maradona’s Argentina.