Former Italy, Sampdoria, Juventus and Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli has died at the age of 58 following a long battle with cancer.
Vialli was initially diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018, and was given the all-clear in April 2020 only for the disease to return in 2021.
The former Italy international's condition worsened in the lead-up to Christmas, and he has now passed away at the age of 58.
Vialli played in two World Cups for the Azzurri, in 1986 and 1990, helping them to a third-placed finish in the latter on home soil.
The striker ended his seven-year international career with 19 goals in 59 appearances for his country.
At club level, Vialli began his career at Cremonese in the third tier of Italian football before earning his move to Sampdoria in 1984.
At Sampdoria, he scored 141 goals in 327 games, helping the club to enjoy their greatest ever period, during which they won their only Serie A title, three of their four Coppa Italia crowns, their solitary Cup Winners' Cup and their only Supercoppa Italiana.
Indeed, Vialli fired Sampdoria to six of the seven top-tier trophies the club have ever won in their history, as well as leading them to their only European Cup final, which they lost in 1992.
The forward's goalscoring exploits saw Juventus spend a world-record fee of £12.5m for him in 1992, and he went on to add another Serie A, Coppa Italia, UEFA Cup, Champions League and Supercoppa Italia to his trophy cabinet in Turin.
In doing so, Vialli secured a unique place in football history as the only forward to have won the three main European club competitions of Champions League, UEFA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup, as well as the only player to have both won and finished as a runner-up in all three of those competitions.
Vialli then moved to Chelsea in 1996, winning the FA Cup in his first season at Stamford Bridge before becoming player-manager and leading the Blues to League Cup and Cup Winners' Cup glory.
The Cremona-born striker scored the winning goal in his final playing appearance in 1999 and then went on to lead Chelsea to another FA Cup triumph in 2000.
Vialli then spent a brief spell in charge of Watford, and most recently was helping Italy during their victorious Euro 2020 campaign before having to step down from that role to focus on his cancer treatment. body check tags ::
