Gianluca Vialli, a former striker in Chelsea and Italy dies at the age of 58 after battling pancreatic cancer.
The former striker was diagonal with cancer for the second time in 2021 shortly after Italy’s Euro 2020 triumph. Before the diagnosis in 2021, he had been first treated for cancer in 2017.
His illness made him leave his role in Italy in December to undergo treatment. Vialli had publicly struggled with cancer for years.
Italian Football Federation President- Gabriele Grancula says “Gianluca was a splendid person and he leaves a void that cannot be filled.”
Also, a statement from the said Blues said: “A brilliant striker, a trophy-winning manager, and a wonderful man, Luca’s place in the pantheon of Chelsea greats is assured. He will be deeply missed.
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Brief Football History
Before his death, Gianluca Vialli had played for Italian clubs Sampdoria and Juventus, and English Premier League team Chelsea.
While in Italy he earned 59 caps for Italy and was a part of the Italy side which finished in third place at the 1999 world cup.
Vialli retired from professional football in 1999 to focus on his role as a full-time manager. He won the FA Cup and the League Cup as a manager at Chelsea before leaving in 2000.
After a brief stint as Watford’s manager, he spent many years as a football pundit and analyst.
Vialli made his Italy debut in 1985, a year after joining Sampdoria where he would win the Serie A title and European Cup Winners’ Cup during eight seasons with the club.
Also, he helped Sampdoria reach the 1992 European Cup final and moved to Juventus for a world record fee of £12M after losing to Barcelona.
Vialli played for Cremonese, Sampdoria, and Juventus in the 1980s and 1990s before joining Chelsea in 1996 on a free transfer.
In 1998, he became a player-manager making him the First Italian to manage a Premier League side, taking over from the sacked Ruud Gullit late in the season.
He went on to lead the Blues to victory in the League Cup, Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup, and Uefa Super Cup.
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