Stephen Kasiewicz goes throughout the career of Gianluca Vialli, one of Italy’s most successful players who had an outstanding impact on Italian and English football.
It often feels intrusive and inappropriate to comment on the passing of someone you didn’t know personally, especially in the opinion-dividing world of sports. Yet the passing of Gianluca Vialli united disparate groups of people from across Italian football and beyond.
The word legend is overused but is one of many superlatives fitting for one of the greatest Italian forwards of all time. He established himself as a versatile winger and striker at home-town club Cremonese in the early 1980s and clinched a move to Sampdoria in 1984.
Vialli netted six times, including in the second leg of the final, to help Doria win their first-ever trophy, the Coppa Italia in 1985. A serial winner he claimed two more Italian Cups, scoring 13 times as Samp claimed the trophy in 1989. The best was yet to come.
Many will remember him fondly for his swashbuckling role as a thrilling, all-action goalscorer in the Blucerchiati’s improbable Scudetto win in season 1990-1991.
Along with goal twin Roberto Mancini, electrifying winger Attilio Lombardo, defensive rock Pietro Vierchowod and star goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca the Liguria club overcame the considerable financial might of star-studded Milan and Inter teams to claim a memorable first title.
Vialli claimed the Capocannoniere crown with a phenomenal 19 goals in 26 games and famously dyed his hair blonde with team-mates Toninho Cerezo and Ivano Bonetti ahead of the last game of the campaign at Lazio.
A mischievous prankster with an abundance of talent and charisma he also scored for Italy at the European Championships in 1988 and provided crucial assists for Salvatore Schillaci as the Azzurri agonizingly fell short at Italia 90. He struck 16 times in 59 appearances in total for the national team.
He excelled on the European club stage and struck twice in the extra-time as Doria claimed the European Cup Winners’ Cup against Anderlecht on an unforgettable Gothenburg night in May 1990.
Always recognisable for his mop of curly hair Vialli was an archetype for a different kind of modern striker.
Equally comfortable with either foot, his explosive pace and physical power set him apart from other attackers. Indefatigable and committed he willingly tracked back to regain possession and played with unselfishness which benefited teammates in every area of the field. In the present-day era of infinitely detailed analytics, his work rate would have sent heat maps burning off the scale.
Yet he also possessed dazzling technical skills and scored sensational volleys and outrageous overhead kicks from every conceivable angle.
Vialli was no ordinary footballer. Although he was from an affluent family in Lombardy, it never showed. Affable and well-liked wherever he went the formidable forward once sported a gleaming silver earring and professed his fondness for Italian rap music in a memorable Gazzetta Football Italia interview with host James Richardson.
Goals were celebrated with gusto and acrobatic backflips. He was a loyal team-mate who refused to leave Samp until they claimed the title. At home on the Liguria coast, he relished living beside the hypnotizing waves of the sea.
Close to benevolent Samp President Paolo Mantovani and several of his club colleagues, not least friend for life Mancini, he resisted advances from big spending Silvio Berlusconi at Milan before eventually moving to Juventus for a then world record fee of £12 million in 1992.
Before the move, the Blucerchiati were cruelly denied in the European Cup in a very evenly matched final against an overhyped Barcelona team at Wembley. A devastated Vialli and Mancini openly expressed their grief on the famous London turf after losing out in extra time.
At the Bianconeri he overcame early adaptation difficulties (and shaved his head) to win Serie A, a Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup and captain Juve in the Champions League as they prevailed on penalties in an epic final against Ajax at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
He became one of the most high-profile Italian players to move to the English Premier League when he joined Chelsea in 1996.
Success inevitably followed with FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup triumphs, the latter two as player-manager.
After a short spell as Watford’s manager, he became a respected pundit in both Italy and England and in 2019 was appointed Italy’s chief delegate.
Alongside old pal, team-mate, and national team coach Mancini he offered sage advice, good humour and inspirational speeches as the Azzurri won the 2020 European Championships at the same venue the gemelli del gol experienced European Cup heartbreak.
An anxious Vialli couldn’t watch the penalty shoot-out as Italy defeated England and stood with his back to the Wembley pitch before a warm, tearful victory embrace with Mancini.
He had beaten cancer to play an emotional role in his country’s incredible victory before the disease returned in December 2021. His untimely passing at the age of 58 united Italian football with every club offering effusive and heartfelt tributes.
Vialli was a familiar face for hundreds of thousands of Football Italia viewers on Channel 4.
The attacking trident of Vialli, Alessandro Del Piero and Fabrizio Ravanelli played with such infectious passion, panache, and precision for the Bianconeri that many were converted to Italian football for life after a single game’s viewing.
He didn’t mind making fun of himself in brilliant interviews and comedy segments with Gazzetta Football Italia host Richardson.
Vialli was also my football hero. As a teenager infatuated with Italian football in the 1990s, I made a giant poster with over 100 pictures of the great striker cut out from magazines and newspapers. Every day was a search to find new information on him in a time just before the internet existed. I even made up a silly song in his honour, watched highlights of his games and goals countless times and unsuccessfully attempted to recreate his magnificent volleys in the playground.
There were so many magical performances and goals to savour. A few of my favourites bring back great memories of a time when Italian football was the best in the world.
A perfectly struck volley on the turn as Samp swept past Lecce to seal the title at a buoyant Marassi; a stunning back-heel flick, one-two and surge of pace to sprint around a stranded Walter Zenga as Doria thumped Inter with the Scudetto shield on their shirt; an overhead kick which combined athleticism and superb technique at his beloved Cremonese for Juve in 1994 and a stunning volley of impeccable timing in the second leg of the UEFA Cup for the Old Lady against Parma at a packed San Siro in 1995.
It’s easy to overemphasize what football means in the bigger picture of life but watching Vialli gave me so much pleasure. He provided so much excitement and joy throughout a wonderful career.
I’m not embarrassed to say that I shed a few tears after hearing news of his passing. There will never be anyone like him and he will never be forgotten.
Grazie di tutto, Luca.
A beautiful homage. Well written, Stephen.