GIANLUCA VIALLI, 58, DIES AFTER A SECOND FIGHT WITH PANCREATIC CANCER
Gianluca Vialli, a famous striker for Sampdoria and later Juventus, was one of the first cult figures in Italian football at the turn of the century. He continued to play and manage for Chelsea before Roman Abramovich, turning into one of the folk legends of English football. Sadly, he lost his second battle with pancreatic cancer.
It has been reported that Gianluca Vialli, a former forward for Sampdoria, Juventus, and Chelsea, died at the age of 58 after losing his second fight with pancreatic cancer.
Vialli was a member of the famed Sampdoria team that dominated Italy and Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, among other accomplishments, by winning the Serie A in 1990–1991 season.
Together, he and his childhood friend Roberto Mancini established an illustrious front-row tandem that earned them the nickname “The Goal Twins” in Italian.
He later transferred to Jvuentus for a then-record-breaking £12.5 million, where he won another Serie A championship and the Champions League in the 1995–96 season.
He later moved to England and helped Chelsea win the FA Cup, League Cup, and Cup Winners’ Cup, making him a local hero at Stamford Bridge Following the firing of the previous player-manager of Chelsea in 1998 before Andre Villas-Boas shattered the record with Porto, Ruud Gullit was the youngest manager to ever win a UEFA competition when he won the Cup Winners’ Cup that season.
He battled pancreatic cancer for a number of years until receiving the all-clear in 2020. He did, however, disclose that the disease had returned in December 2021.
