Italian football legend and hero of the 1990 World Cup, Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci, died at the age of 59 from colon cancer on Wednesday, Italy’s football governing body FIGC confirmed.
Born in December 1964, Schillaci played for Messina, Juventus, Inter Milan and Jubilo Iwata.
As a hitman, Schillaci’s goal ratio was relatively average at club level, but he rose to fame at the 1990 Italy World Cup when he scored six goals to help the Azzurri finish third in the tournament, while Schillaci also got the Golden Boot and Golden ball. The stark difference is that Schillaci scored only seven goals in all 16 of his appearances for the national side.
Schillaci was reportedly diagnosed with colon cancer in 2022 and was admitted to the hospital in September. Once he was confirmed by his family in a stable condition.
In honor of his contribution, the FIGC announced that all matches from Wednesday through the weekend will observe a minute of silence before kick-off.
“We at Juve were lucky enough to be excited about him before, in that extraordinary summer of 1990, the whole of Italy became, captivated by his amazingly energetic celebrations. Goodbye, Toto. Thank you.” Juventus said in a statement.