Biography
Gianluca Vialli (Italian pronunciation: [dʒanˈluːka ˈvjalli, viˈa-]; 9 July 1964 – 6 January 2023) was an Italian football player and manager who played as a striker. Vialli started his club career at his hometown club Cremonese in 1980, where he made 105 league appearances and scored 23 goals. His performances impressed Sampdoria who signed him in 1984, and with whom he scored 85 league goals, won three Italian cups, Serie A and the European Cup Winners Cup.
In 1992, Vialli transferred to Juventus for a world record £12.5 million. During his time at the Turin club he won the Italian Cup, Serie A, Italian Supercup, UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup. In 1996 Vialli joined Chelsea and became their player-manager the following season. In England he won the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup Winners Cup and UEFA Super Cup. He is one of nine footballers to have won the three main European club competitions, and the only forward to have done so; he is also the only player in European footballing history to have both winners' and runners-up medals in all three main European club competitions, including two winners' medals for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
At international level, Vialli represented the Italy national team in two FIFA World Cups, in 1986 and (on home soil) in 1990. He also took part at UEFA Euro 1988, helping his nation to a semi-final finish, and was elected to the team of the tournament. During his twenty-year-long career as a professional footballer he scored 259 goals at club level, 16 goals with the national team, and 11 goals with the Italy national under-21 football team, for a total of 286 goals in more than 500 appearances, making him the tenth-highest scoring Italian player in all competitions.
On his retirement from playing, Vialli went into management and later punditry, and worked as a commentator for Sky Italia. He was part of the Italy national team non-playing staff as a delegation chief when they won UEFA Euro 2020; he stepped back from this role days before his death from cancer.
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