Former Chelsea striker and Ex-Italian international, Gianluca Vialli has passed away at age 58 due to pancreatic cancer that he battled since 2017.
Vialli was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017 and then for a second time in 2021, shortly after Italy’s Euro 2020 triumph.He quit his role with Italy in December, citing his need to undergo treatment for the disease.
Vialli won the Champions League with Juventus in 1996 and was pronounced dead in the early hours of January 6th.
He was part of the coaching team of Roberto Mancini’s Italian Euro 2020 victory but had to step down from his role after dreaded cancer made a painful return back in 2021.Born in the city of Cremona, Vialli started his football journey at Cremonese and won promotion to Serie B which brought Vialli attraction from different clubs.He joined Sampdoria in 1984 and was paired with his close friend and Italian coach Roberto Mancini and were nicknamed ‘The Goal Twins’.He later went on to join the Turin side, Juventus after a successful career at Sampdoria.
There at Juventus, he won the prestigious European trophy, when they defeated Ajax in the Champions League final in 1996.
He then joined English side Chelsea after winning the Champions League in 1996 as a part of at the time Blues coach Ruud Gullit’s rebuild of the team.
He retired as a legend in the sport in 1999 with 259 goals in 673 appearances at the club level.
