Mourning in world football: Toto Scilacci has died

The football world is mourning again, a few days after his death Sven Goran Eriksson. As it became known on Wednesday morning (18/09), the Italian veteran striker, Salvatore Schillacilost the hard battle he was fighting, taking his last breath in old age 59 years old and plunging Italian – and not only – football into mourning.

THE “Toto” he was one of the most loved players in Italy due to his exploits with the national team at the 1990 World Cup, where he was also top scorer of the organization. Some time ago he was subjected to two small operations on the large intestine to remove one volume. All the while, however, that he was struggling, it showed incredible power and participated, in fact, regularly in a television show. Unfortunately in the last few days his condition presented relapse and on Saturday afternoon the alarm sounded.

He was taken to the emergency room and entered for treatment at the Pulmonary Center of the Municipal Hospital of Palermo. On Sunday, while Italian fans gathered outside the hospital to show their support for the beloved ‘Toto’, his family reassured the public in a message to Instagram. The next day, however, the hospital announced that his health condition is stable and at the same time serious. And this morning he passed away…

+++E’ morto Toto Schillaci, the footballer si e spent all’ospedale civico di Palermo where he was recovered.#IoSeguoTgr pic.twitter.com/KNWYSvFZZQ

— Tgr Rai Sicilia (@TgrRaiSicilia) September 18, 2024

On a collective level, Skilatsi played for Messina (1982-1989), Juventus (1989-1992), Inter (1992-1994) and Jubilo Iwata (1994-1997). He was the first Italian player to play in the Japanese league.

In the 1988-89 season it was top scorer of the Italian second division league with 23 goals. Moving to Juventus he had a very good first year, scoring 15 league goals and 21 in all competitions, a period that ended with Juventus winning the 1989–90 Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup titles. A smart striker, he was then selected by Italy’s head coach to play in the upcoming World Cup. After Juventus he moved to Inter winning the UEFA Cup in 1993-94 but fell short of expectations and eventually left for Japan where he won a league title in 1997.

At the international level, it was the surprise in the 1990 World Cup, helping Italy with decisive goals to finish third in the host event. Having only one international cap prior to the start of the tournament, he came on as a substitute in the first two matches and scored six times, winning the Golden Boot as top scorer and winning the tournament’s Golden Ball as best player, eclipsing Lothar Mathews (2nd) and him Diego Maradona (3rd). That year he came second for the Ballon d’Or for the best European footballer, behind Lothar Mattheus.

In total, he made 16 appearances with the Italian national team, scoring 7 times.