The former striker played for the Blues, Juventus, Sampdoria, and Cremonese during his playing days and earned 59 caps for Italy.
Following the announcement that Gianluca Vialli, a former striker for Juventus and Chelsea
Gianluca Vialli had passed away at the age of 58, the football community is once more in mourning.
Another sporting legend has tragically lost his long-running battle with cancer.
Following in the footsteps of Pele and Sinisa Mihajlovic, both of whom passed away too soon.
After a 17-month battle with the same disease, Vialli was given the all-clear in April 2020 and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer for the second time in 2021.
While Italy was enjoying glory at Euro 2020, he took on the role of delegation chief alongside his close friend Roberto Mancini.
Vialli, who was born in Cremona, began his football career with Cremonese.
A local team, where he helped them win promotion to Serie B before drawing interest from clubs higher up Italy’s football pyramid.
In 1984, Sampdoria believed in his obvious potential and formed a successful partnership with Mancini.
They were dubbed “The Goal Twins” and helped the club win a first-ever Serie A title in 1990 and 1991.
Vialli also reached the 1992 European Cup final with Samp and won three Italian Cups.
The European Cup Winners’ Cup before signing a record-breaking £12.5 million deal with Juventus.
Turin saw the Bianconeri win another Serie A title, the Italian Cup, and the UEFA Cup.
However, their victory over Ajax in the 1996 Champions League final was without a doubt the most memorable moment of their four-year tenure.
In 1996, as part of an exciting rebuild at Stamford Bridge, Ruud Gullit tried to lure Vialli to Chelsea.
The Italian was named player-manager in 1998, at the age of 33, when the Dutch coach was let go.
With 259 club goals from 673 appearances, Vialli retired from playing in 1999 after leading the Blues to League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup glory.
In his first season as Chelsea manager, Vialli led the team to victory in the FA Cup final at the old Wembley Stadium in 2000.
However, he was fired just five games into the 2000-01 season.
He was manager of Watford for a brief period of time during the 2001-2002 season.
But after leaving Vicarage Road, he turned his attention to being a pundit.
Vialli scored 16 goals in 59 appearances for Italy in international competitions
At Euro 88, he was named to the tournament’s team, and in 1990, he led Italy to the World Cup semi-finals on home soil.
In addition, Vialli and Mancini helped Sampdoria reach the European Cup final in 1992, where they were defeated by Barcelona at Wembley Stadium.
Vialli and Mancini reunited as delegation chief to assist Italy in winning the 2021 European Championship by defeating England in a penalty shootout at Wembley.
During the Euros, Mancini stated, “We have a relationship that goes way beyond friendship.”
I think of him as my true brother.”