After Siniša MIhajlović, Italia just lost another great player, coach and mentor – Gianluca Vialli died this morning at the age of 59. Former Chelsea player and manager is also an Italian legend, with 59 caps, 16 goals and one bronze medal from the World Cup (1990). Vialli lost his battle with pancreatic cancer, which was diagnosed in 2018. He recovered the first time, but the illness came back, and in December and he was transferred to a hospital in London, but failed to recover.You’ll be missed by so many. A legend to us and to all of football.Rest in peace, Gianluca Vialli. 💙 pic.twitter.com/mNJPDkCSYO— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 6, 2023 Ciao Gianluca pic.twitter.com/C9P8oVLSnR— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 6, 2023 He started his career with Cremonese before switching to Sampdoria, with whom he won the title in Serie A in 1990 and then lost the Champions League final against Barcelona the following year. He was the most expensive player in the world when he signed for Juventus in 1992. He played in Turin for four years before switching to Chelsea. Vialli scored 40 goals in 88 appearances for the Blues between 1996 and 1999 and then switched to be a manager. He initially took over as player-manager in February 1998, and Chelsea won the League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup within his first few months in the job, before he added the FA Cup in 2000.Gianluca Vialli as a Chelsea Player:👤 88 Games⚽ 40 Goals🏆 FA Cup🏆 League Cup🏆 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup#CFC Manager:👤 143 Games✅ 76 Wins➖ 38 Draws❌ 29 Losses🏆 FA Cup🏆 League Cup🏆 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup🏆 UEFA Super CupThe definition of legend. RIP 💙 pic.twitter.com/gd3FoqjYt3— CFC-Blues (@CFCBlues_com) January 6, 2023 💔Ciao Luca. pic.twitter.com/8KAo9BsYaC— U.C. Sampdoria (@sampdoria) January 6, 2023 One of the most beautiful moments. Luca Vialli and Bobby Mancini after the victory at the EUROs. Such a formidable force from their Sampdoria days, they reunited with the Azzurri and led them all the way. Eternally grateful Luca. pic.twitter.com/JouGimUlLA— Italian Football News 🇮🇹 (@footitalia1) January 6, 2023 He was managing Watford for a season and then appeared in the backroom staff with his childhood friend and Sampdoria striking partner Roberto Mancini’s and won the European Championships in England in 2020. He called his cancer an ‘unwanted companion’ and said:“I can only hope that one day he will get tired, go down and let me continue my journey. Because I still want to do many things for many years”. Unfortunately, he didn’t.##NAJAVA_MECA_6928878##
