Top scorer at the 1990 World Cup and a monument of Italian football, Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci died this Wednesday at the age of 59 following a long illness.
Italian football mourns this Wednesday morning the death of one of its legends, Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci. At 59, he died in Palermo after a long battle with colon cancer. The Italian Football Federation – through its president Gabriele Gravina – posted a message to pay tribute to him. “The irrepressible celebrations, in which his face was a symbol of shared joy, will forever remain the common heritage of Italian football”.
“Toto was a great footballer, a tenacious symbol of will and redemption, he knew how to excite the Azzurri fans because his football smelled of passion. And it was precisely this indomitable spirit that made him loved by all and that will make him immortal.”Gravina continued. Juventus, where he spent three years from 1989 to 1992, also posted a photo of him with the caption: “Hello Toto”.
Father of three children
Inter Milan, the other club where “Toto” Schillaci had shone underlines the fact that the former striker “made an entire nation dream during the magical nights of Italy in 1990”. But above all, his name became known during the 1990 World Cup where he finished top scorer of the competition with six goals. The same year, he failed to come second in the Ballon d’Or just behind the German Lothar Matthäus. Originally from Palermo, the former international (16 caps) had brought joy to the Messina club for seven years (1982-1989). He ended his sporting career in Japan, becoming the first Italian player to play in the Land of the Rising Sun. Father of three children, Salvatore Schillaci had founded a football school in Palermo, his lifelong city.
