"We loved everything about you": Italy's football mourns ex-national player Vialli

Four years ago, former Italy soccer player Gianluca Vialli received good news that he had recovered from pancreatic cancer.

"We loved everything about you": Italy's football mourns ex-national player Vialli

Four years ago, former Italy soccer player Gianluca Vialli received good news that he had recovered from pancreatic cancer. But a new tumor forms. The 1990 World Cup bronze medalist has now died at the age of just 58.

Former Italy soccer player Gianluca Vialli has died at the age of 58 after a long illness. This was announced by the Italian association (FIGC). After recovering from pancreatic cancer four years ago, the former striker has been battling a tumor again in recent weeks.

He therefore gave up his position as head of the Azzurri delegation and thus assistant to national coach Roberto Mancini in December, and in this function he was also involved in the 2021 European Championship triumph. There will be a minute's silence in Italian football next weekend.

"I am deeply saddened. I hoped to the last that he could perform another miracle," said association president Gabriele Gravina: "Without mincing words, Gianluca was a wonderful person and leaves an unbridgeable gap, both in the national team and all those who appreciated his extraordinary human qualities."

Vialli played three tournaments for the Italian national team, the greatest success was third place at the 1990 World Cup. In club football, he spent his best years with Sampdoria Genoa, Juventus Turin and Chelsea FC. He also started his brief coaching career with the Blues before moving to the official division. His former club Juventus Turin paid tribute to Vialli with moving words: "Today, January 6, 2023, comes the news that we hoped never to receive. A champion, yes, a legend, a great man, a piece of us and our story is leaving us. We've been with you forever, Gianluca: since you came to us in 1992 and it was love at first sight. You were one of the first building blocks of a Juve that would return with you to the top of Europe", writes the club with which Vialli won the Champions League in 1996 and was Italian champion twice. "We loved everything about you, everything really: your smile, your demeanor as a champion and a leader, on the pitch and in the dressing room, your lovely Gascon, your culture, the class you showed up until your last day at Juventus .