ITALIAN football legend Salvatore Schillaci has passed away at the age of 59.
The World Cup Golden Boot winner, affectionately known as “Toto”, had been battling colon cancer since 2022.
Schillaci had undergone two operations for his cancer since his diagnosis two years ago.
The 16-cap Italy international recently sparked concern for his health after he was taken to the Civico hospital in his home city Palermo after reportedly suffering from pneumonia.
Schillaci represented Italian giants Juventus and Inter Milan throughout his career, but saw his most memorable moments happen in the famous blue of the Italian national team.
The Palermo-born striker was the World Cup Golden Boot winner during the Italia 90 tournament.
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His six goals saw him beat footballing legend Diego Maradona to the trophy as Italy finished third in their home tournament.
Schillaci, who was virtually unknown outside of Italy prior to the tournament, soon became a household name after netting against Austria, Czechoslovakia, Uruguay, the Republic of Ireland and Argentina.
While he also denied England a third-place finish after helping Italy beat the Three Lions in the tournament’s third-place playoff match in Bari.
Schillaci retired in 1997, hanging up his boots at Japanese club Jubilo Iwata.
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Schillaci’s superb career
A brief look at the career of an Italian hero…
Club Career
- 1982-1989 – Messina (219 apps, 61 goals)
- 1989-1992 – Juventus (90 apps, 26 goals)
- 1992-1994 – Inter Milan (30 apps, 11 goals)
- 1994-1997 – Jubilo Iwata (86 apps, 58 goals)
International Career
- Caps: 16
- Goals: 7
- Assists: 1
Honours
- 1 x World Cup Golden Boot
- 2 x Uefa Cup winner
- 1 x Italian Cup winner
- 1 x J-League top scorer
- 1 x Serie B top scorer
The Azzuir icon spent the bulk of his career at Sicilian side ACR Messina, where he made 219 appearances and scored 61 goals.
Across all four of his clubs, Schillaci made a total of 417 appearances and found the back of the net an impressive 154 times.
While he won the UEFA Cup twice, once with Juventus in 1990 and once with Inter in 1994.
Schillaci also won the the Italian Cup with Juve in 1990, a year that saw him lift two trophies and win the World Cup Golden Boot.
His incredible campaign saw him earn a second place finish in that year’s Ballon d’Or standings.
Tributes have poured in for Schillaci given the incredible impact he had on Italian football.
Former club Juve wrote: “We immediately fell in love with Totò.
“His desire, his story, his being so wonderfully passionate, and it showed in every game he played.
“We at Juve were lucky enough to get excited about him before, in that incredible summer of 1990, the whole of Italy did, captivated by those wonderfully energetic celebrations of his.”
While Inter Milan posted on social media: “He made an entire nation dream during the Magic Nights of Italia ’90.
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“FC Internazionale Milano gathers around the Schillaci family for the passing of Totò.”
And the Italian national team simply posted: “Ciao Toto. Hero of the Magic Nights.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
