Gianluca Vialli passes away aged 58 following second battle with pancreatic cancer

Former Sampdoria, Juventus and Chelsea forward Gianluca Vialli has passed away at the age of 58 following a second battle with pancreatic cancer, it has been confirmed.

Vialli was part of a legendary Sampdoria side that took Italy and Europe by storm in the late 80s and early 90s, winning Serie A in 1990-91 amongst other honours.

He formed an iconic partnership up front with childhood friend Roberto Mancini, with the pair dubbed I Gemelli del Gol in Italian, which translates to “The Goal Twins.”

He then moved to Jvuentus for what was then a world-record fee of £12.5m and won another Serie A title, as well as the Champions League in the 1995-96 season.

He then went abroad to England and won the FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup with Chelsea, becoming a folk hero at Stamford Bridge.

In 1998 he was appointed as player-manager of Chelsea after the sacking of Ruud Gullit and it was that Cup Winners’ Cup that came that season, making him the youngest manager to ever win a UEFA competition, until Andre Villas-Boas broke that record with Porto.

In the past few years he had a very public battle with pancreatic cancer, being given the all-clear in 2020. However he confirmed in December 2021 that the cancer had returned.