Ex-Italy striker Gianluca Vialli dies of cancer

Former Italy and Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli has passed away at the age of 58 following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017 before being diagnosed with the same disease a second time in 2021. As a result of his being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer again, he left his job with the Italian national team to undergo treatment.

Towards the latter part of his playing days, he became a player-manager at Chelsea before completing assuming the role of a manager. After managing the Blues in the 1999-2000 season, the year he helped them win the FA Cup, Vialli also had a short managerial stint with Watford before he was appointed as a delegation chief of the Italian national team under head coach Roberto Mancini.

Vialli and Mancini were known as the “Gemelli del gol,” or “goal twins,” when they played together at Sampdoria, leading the club based in Genoa to its only Serie A title in 1991 and its only European title in 1990 with the Cup Winners’ Cup — plus four Italian Cup trophies. Vialli and Mancini also led Sampdoria to the 1992 European Cup final, which it lost to Barcelona at Wembley Stadium. As delegation chief, Vialli reunited with Mancini to help Italy win the European Championship by beating England in a penalty shootout at Wembley last year. "We have a relationship that goes way beyond friendship,” Mancini said during the Euros. “He’s like a true brother to me."