LFormer Italy striker Salvatore ‘Totò’ Schillaci, top scorer at the 1990 World Cup, died on Wednesday at the age of 59 from cancer, his former clubs Juventus and Inter Milan announced.
Trained in Messina, where he started in Serie C2, the Italian 4th division in 1982, Schillaci joined Juventus in 1989. With the ‘Old Lady’, he played 132 matches and scored 36 goals.
During his time in Turin, he won the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia in 1990. A magical year for him: at the World Cup held that summer in Italy, he led the ‘Squadra Azzurra’ to the semi-finals. Coming on as a substitute, he scored 6 goals, finishing top scorer of the competition and becoming the idol of an entire country, which vibrated to the rhythm of the ‘Notti Magiche’ of the official anthem of the tournament. He was also voted best player of the competition, which Italy finished in third place. At that World Cup, Schillaci scored 6 of the 7 goals he scored in 16 games with the Italian national team.
Schillaci then played for Inter Milan between 1992 and 1994, scoring 12 goals in 36 games before trying an adventure in Japan, at Jubilo Iwata, where he ended his career in 1997.
After hanging up his boots, Schillaci, still very popular in Italy, appeared on several television shows over the years.
Schillaci had been battling colon cancer for two and a half years. He had undergone two operations. He had been hospitalized since September 7 at the Palermo hospital, where he died this Wednesday.
