Health concerns rise for Italia 90 hero Salvatore Schillaci
Italia 90 top scorer Salvatore Schillaci was admitted to the hospital over the weekend, raising concerns across the soccer world. Schillaci netted six goals to become one of the tournament’s breakout stars. Schillaci, who is nicknamed ‘Totò,’ had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2022.
The former Italian soccer player’s family provided a positive brief statement on the Italian’s current condition.
“Given the countless calls from the media and the nasty rumors circulating, we clarify that our beloved Totò is in stable condition and is continuously checked by an expert team of doctors night and day. Come on, Totò.”
Schillaci’s rise to World Cup glory
Italia 90 featured the tears of Paul Gascoigne against West Germany. Italians remember the tournament for Schillaci’s rise from relative obscurity to national heroism. To this day, it remains one of the romantic narratives of the 1990 World Cup.
The striker was part of a 22-man World Cup squad which featured a top-heavy attack. Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Mancini, Andrea Carnevale and Aldo Serena were all ahead of Schillaci in the international pecking order. Furthermore, soccer regulations in the 1990s only allowed five substitutes.
In Serie A, Schillaci’s Juventus side was flailing behind the likes of Napoli, Milan and Internazionale. The Old Lady had finished fourth in the league. However, only Marco Van Basten (19), Roberto Baggio (17) and Diego Maradona (16) had scored more goals than Schillaci in the 1989/90 season. At 25 years old, Schillaci was thriving at the club level. He had yet to make a significant impact on the international stage.
The Italian forward had only played once for the national team before Italia 90. This was in a 1-0 friendly win against Switzerland. He had impressed Italy manager Azeglio Vicini in the lead-up to the tournament.
In the opening World Cup game against Austria, Toto’s ascent to heroism began. Vicini opted to bring on Schillaci for Carnevale, overlooking Roberto Baggio in the process. His header won the opening game for the Azzurri. It had set a confident tone for Italy in their forthcoming fixtures, with Schillaci scoring against Czechoslovakia, Uruguay and the Republic of Ireland.
Salvatore Schillaci was the hero of Italia 90
By the time Italy faced Argentina in the semi-final, they had not conceded a single goal in the tournament. Claudio Caniggia’s header canceled out Totò’s early goal against the defending champions. The match would go the distance to a penalty shootout.
Italy and Schillaci’s fairy-tale ride ended on that disappointing night. He later admitted that he did not take part in the penalty shootout due to muscular discomfort. Speaking to FourFourTwo in 2014, Schillaci said:
“I had a muscular injury to my leg and was tired, so I thought I’d leave it to someone in better condition than me, someone better at taking penalties. I’m not a great penalty taker.”
For Totò, the burden of being a national hero in the summer of 1990 would prove too much in consequent years. He would only represent Italy 16 times in his career, only playing a further 8 times after that World Cup. Even at the domestic level, he failed to reach double digits in his goal tally for the next two seasons in Italy.
A move to Inter Milan followed. However, he failed to meet the level of expectations there between 1992 and 1994. As a result, the forward moved to Japanese side Jubilo Iwata. In doing so, he was the first Italian soccer player to move to Japan.
Schillaci retired in 1999, returning to his native Palermo.
Those four weeks in 1990 defined a career for Salvadore Schillaci. Those expectations that Italian fans pinned a nation’s hopes on for those few weeks proved too much to handle, but the beloved legacy that he left behind is timeless.
PHOTOS: IMAGO