EKO HOT BLOG reports that Chelsea icon Gianluca Vialli has died aged 58, five years after first being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
The former striker played for and managed the Blues after enjoying a successful career in his homeland of Italy.
Vialli scored 40 goals in 88 appearances for Chelsea between 1996 and 1999. He then went on to manage the club and won three trophies in the pre-Roman Abramovich era.
Initially taking over as player-manager in early 1998, Vialli guided Chelsea to the League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup in his first few months in charge. He then won the FA Cup in 2000.
Tributes by Vialli’s former club poured in after his death was confirmed on Friday morning. Sampdoria, for whom the former Italy international made 328 appearances, tweeted a broken heart emoji alongside a picture of their ex-player and the gutting words: “Ciao Luca.”
Vialli was initially cleared of his pancreatic cancer in 2020 and took up a role with the Italian national team alongside his former team-mate Roberto Mancini. He was in the dugout for Italy’s triumphant Euro 2020 campaign, in which they beat England on penalties in the final.
But he stepped down from the role earlier this month and returned to the Royal Marsden in London to undergo further treatment for cancer. At the time, he described it as an “unwanted guest.”
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