Gianluca Vialli

Gianluca Vialli left his role as a coach with Italy in December, citing his need to undergo treatment for pancreatic cancer; the former Italy and Chelsea ...

He was such a fun-loving guy, full of mischief, he was such a warm individual and a fabulous player." Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness paid tribute to his friend and former Sampdoria team-mate: "I can't tell you how good a guy he was. He was the sort of guy you would really go into battle for - the trophies won proved that." He was so much an icon for players [at Chelsea], most of whom had played with him. Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali said in a statement: "This is truly an awful day for Chelsea Football Club. Current Watford manager Slaven Bilic said, in tribute: "It's a sad day.

Former Chelsea and Juventus star Gianluca Vialli has died at the age of 58 following a long battle with cancer.

Their Sampdoria team had lost the European Cup final to Barcelona at the same venue 29 years earlier. The memory of him and his example will live forever in our hearts." Vialli scored twice as Sampdoria beat Anderlecht 2-0 in 1990 to lift the European Cup Winners' Cup. The pair celebrated with a tearful embrace that "was more beautiful than the hugs we used to give each other when I passed him the ball and he scored goals," Vialli said in a TV interview with Italy's RAI in November. Under Vialli, Chelsea won the League Cup and Cup Winners' Cup in 1998 and the FA Cup two years later before he too was dismissed. Vialli left the Genoa-based club in the summer of 1992, moving to Juventus, where after a sluggish start he rediscovered his goal-scoring touch and helped the Turin giants win the Italian league in 1995 and the Champions League the following season.

Italy football great Gianluca Vialli has died aged 58 after what he described as his "journey" with an "unwelcome travel companion" -- pancreatic cancer.

“It can appear strange in this moment (of the pandemic), compared to many others I feel very fortunate.” Vialli retired from professional football in 1999 to focus on his role as a full-time manager. “I am not a warrior. “And then on the pitch, we were very complementary… Another bout with the disease swiftly followed in 2019, before his former team Chelsea announced he’d been ‘given the all-clear’ in 2020. Without him, and without Mancini and the other coaches, this victory would mean nothing.

The Italian was adored by the Chelsea fanbase after his spells as player and manager between 1996-2000 where he won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Super ...

The former Juventus midfielder then had a spell in charge at Watford before moving into non-management roles, including his role as the delegation chief for the Italian men's national team. Following Ruud Gullit's sacking in February 1998, Vialli became the first Italian to manage in the Premier League. The 58-year-old had been battling pancreatic cancer after originally overcoming the illness in 2018.

Vialli, who played with Sampdoria, Juventus and Chelsea, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017.

Mihajlović also played with Mancini at Sampdoria after Vialli left the club for Juventus. You came as a boy, we salute you as a man,” it said. “We have come a long way together, growing and searching, winning and dreaming.

Former Chelsea and Juventus star Gianluca Vialli has died at the age of 58 following a long battle with cancer.

Their Sampdoria team had lost the European Cup final to Barcelona at the same venue 29 years earlier. The memory of him and his example will live forever in our hearts." Vialli scored twice as Sampdoria beat Anderlecht 2-0 in 1990 to lift the European Cup Winners' Cup. The pair celebrated with a tearful embrace that "was more beautiful than the hugs we used to give each other when I passed him the ball and he scored goals," Vialli said in a TV interview with Italy's RAI in November. Under Vialli, Chelsea won the League Cup and Cup Winners' Cup in 1998 and the FA Cup two years later before he too was dismissed. Vialli left the Genoa-based club in the summer of 1992, moving to Juventus, where after a sluggish start he rediscovered his goal-scoring touch and helped the Turin giants win the Italian league in 1995 and the Champions League the following season.

Gianluca Vialli has died at the age of 58 from cancer; the former Chelsea player-manager helped revolutionise the game in England and was a hugely popular ...

It was the final club game played at the old Wembley - that venue inextricably linked with Vialli's career - and the fifth and final trophy of his short but successful time in management. That was goal number 40 in his 83rd game for Chelsea, a formidable strike-rate, especially as 35 per cent of those goals came when he was managing the team as well. It was a feather in the cap for the first Italian manager in the Premier League but ambitious Vialli wanted more. "It got on the train with me and I have to travel with my head down, never giving up, hoping that one day this unwanted guest will get tired and leave peacefully for many years because there are still so many things I want to do in this life." And he proved to be a quick learner in the coaching game, too. As a player and player-manager, Vialli was an icon, a top performer who helped revolutionise English football. Italy boss Roberto Mancini - the man Vialli described as his hero since the age of 14, his 'brother', and his Sampdoria strike partner from that crushing European Cup defeat to Barcelona 29 years earlier - had invited him to take on a leadership role with the team. He is an adored figure at Stamford Bridge; his name sung to the tune of 'Amore'. Star striker, trophy-winning manager and a stylish Italian - it's no wonder the Chelsea fans fell for him. A bag of nerves, he'd stood apart from the Italy staff, facing away from the goal. In 2018, Vialli revealed he had been battling pancreatic cancer. Vialli already had a storied history with this venue.

Everyone associated with Chelsea Football Club is devastated to learn of the passing of Gianluca Vialli, our former player and manager, at the age of just ...

In May 2018, he managed a Chelsea Legends team against Inter Milan at the stadium. A brief spell as Watford manager followed before he turned his hand to punditry, charity work, book writing and, in 2019, a role with the Italy team. Following the shock departure of Gullit in February ‘98, Vialli took the reins at Stamford Bridge a few days before the second leg of a League Cup semi-final at home to Arsenal. We made it all the way to the quarter-finals, drawing two memorable games with AC Milan, going to Galatasaray’s ‘Hell’ and winning 5-0, and then beating Barcelona 3-1 in one of the very best nights the Bridge has witnessed. It brought the curtain down on a campaign in which we had gone as close as we ever did to winning the title between 1955 and 2005. It had been a long time since a Chelsea team and the word consistency had gone together so well. That magical moment was soon commemorated in song, to the tune of That’s Amore, heard up and down the country, and later over Europe: ‘When the ball hits the back of the Old Trafford net, that’s Vialli!’ The love between player and fanbase was very real indeed. For the first of those finals he did not involve himself on the pitch, for the second he did, although it was his fellow star from Serie A, Zola, who scored the only goal seconds after being brought off the bench. Luca Vialli arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 1996, shortly after skippering Juventus to Champions League glory. As soon as he walked through the door at Stamford Bridge when already a global football star, Luca declared his wish to become a Chelsea legend. He scored what would prove the winner at Old Trafford in November ’96, nutmegging Peter Schmeichel and celebrating in front of the travelling Blues contingent. Loved by fans, players and staff at Stamford Bridge, Luca will be sorely missed not just by the Chelsea community, but the entire footballing world, including in his native Italy, where he was such an iconic figure.

The former Italy striker Gianluca Vialli, who had been undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, has died at the age of 58.

[Italy](https://www.theguardian.com/football/italy) striker Gianluca Vialli has died at the age of 58. They added: “We will remember you as a boy and a relentless centre-forward, because heroes are all young and beautiful and you, since that summer of 1984, have been our hero. Vialli announced he had undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy in November 2018, having been diagnosed with cancer one year earlier. A love that will not die today with you. He scored 16 goals in 59 appearances for Italy and featured in the Azzurri’s 1986 and 1990 World Cup squads. [Italy](https://www.theguardian.com/football/italy) team to focus on his treatment for pancreatic cancer.