Italy’s Prime Minster has led tributes to Salvatore Schillaci after the ‘football icon’ and World Cup hero died at the age of 59.
Ex-Italy striker Schillaci, better known as ‘Toto’, was the top scorer at the 1990 World Cup and also took home the Golden Ball award for the best player in the tournament.
The former Messina, Juventus and Inter Milan star only earned 16 caps for Italy but gained hero status for his role at Italia 90.
Schillaci was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2022.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: ‘A football icon leaves us, a man who entered the hearts of Italians and sports lovers around the world.
‘Salvatore Schillaci, known to all as Toto, the bomber of the magical nights of Italia ’90 with our national team.
‘Thank you for the emotions you gave us, for making us dream, cheer, hug and wave our Tricolore. Have a good trip, champion.’
Schillaci began his career at Italian third division club Messina before joining Serie A giants Juventus in 1989, where he won the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup.
His form in Turin led to an international call-up in 1990 and Schillaci went on to star at the 1990 World Cup, scoring six goals to secure the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards.
Italy reached the semi-finals of their home tournament before losing to Argentina on penalties. The hosts then beat England in the third-place play-off.
Injury issues hampered Schillaci following Italia 90 and he had two more frustrating years at Juventus before joining Inter Milan, though he also fell short of expectations there.
The Palermo-born star finished his career in Japan, scoring 65 goals in 93 games for Jubilo Iwata before retiring in 1997.
One of Schillaci’s former clubs, Juventus, said in a statement: ‘We immediately fell in love with Toto.
‘His desire, his story, his being so wonderfully passionate, and it showed in every game he played.
‘We at Juve were lucky enough to get excited about him before, in that incredible summer of 1990, the whole of Italy did, captivated by those wonderfully energetic celebrations of his.
‘Because Toto arrived at Juve in 1989, and in that season he scored 15 goals in the league, four in the UEFA Cup and two in the Coppa Italia.
‘Numbers that earned him the Azzurri shirt in the Italian World Cup, which – also thanks to him – became what we all remember as those ‘Magical Nights’.
‘Top scorer in the competition and, with the national team, third, for an immense collective dream only stopped by those penalty kicks in Naples.
‘His Juventus story went on for another two years, until 1992, making 132 appearances and scoring 36 goals – thirty-six of those magnificent strikes that we now watch over with a lump in our throats.
‘Ciao, Toto. And thank you.’
Serie A, meanwhile, hailed Schillaci as a ‘champion who lit up the magical nights of the 1990 World Cup in Italy’.
The league’s president, Lorenzo Casini, added: ‘His desire to emerge and reach the highest levels of football has been and will continue to be a source of inspiration for the many young people who chase the dream of playing in Serie A.
