For one summer, Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci was Italy’s hero. The pyrotechnician of the “magic nights” of the 1990 World Cup died on Wednesday 18 September in the Palermo civil hospital, where he had been transferred in a serious condition ten days earlier. The former Azzurri international was battling colon cancer. He was 59 years old.
This son of a bricklayer, born on the 1stAhem Born in December 1964 in a poor neighbourhood of the Sicilian capital, he was never fooled by his achievements. “My race, in a way, lasted three weeks”He admitted. One season, 1989-1990, would certainly be more fair. At that time, the striker, who had long vegetated in the second and third Italian divisions, finally discovered the elite under the colours of Juventus of Turin. There he will flourish in the eyes of football fans, before conquering the hearts of the general public in the national team jersey during the World Cup on home soil.
His performances in Piedmont – twenty-one goals in all competitions in fifty games for Juve, winners of the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup – opened the doors to the national team on 31 March 1990, when Italy were facing Switzerland in a friendly match. Little do we know that his name would appear on the list of twenty-two players selected by Azeglio Vicini for the big summer rally.
But to everyone’s surprise, the player, who was then 25 years old, was selected. in a squadron With plenty of attacking talents – Gianluca Vialli, Andrea Carnevale, Roberto Mancini and Roberto Baggio – the interested party knows that he will be limited to the role of substitute. Two minutes, during the opening match against Austria, at the Olympic stadium in Rome, would help to change the situation. He preferred Baggio to replace Carnevale, aged 76.my In the first minute, the Sicilian opened the scoring with a header as soon as he came on, giving his team the victory (1-0).
Vialli is injured, so Schillaci is added to the starting eleven. Better still, he found the net in six of Italy’s seven matches in the tournament. “In football there are moments when everything goes well for youanalyzed years later. You just have to breathe and the ball goes into the goal. I was in a state of grace, that’s all. » For a long time “Toto” Schillaci saw it as a sign of divine intervention.
“With my goals I reunited Italy”
The fans are excited by this unknown with big, excited eyes, “This group of muscles and anger that, the previous year, was still playing in Serie B, in Messina, because of this “terrone” [terme péjoratif désignant les Italiens du Sud] who struggled to conjugate the subjunctive but, when he did, seemed possessed by a demon”wrote The Stampin 2011. “With my goals I reunited Italy”the interested party launches during the World Cup. “ [Ses] The uncontrollable celebrations, in which his face was a symbol of shared joy, will forever remain a common heritage.”Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), reacted to the announcement of his death.
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