Written by Matteo Ciaramella
It has been 13 days since media outlets achingly spread their sorrow to football fans around the globe. Generation Z will remember him for his essential role in Italy’s 2020 European Championship win, but Gianluca Vialli was much more than that. A true role model for the up and coming generation of the late 1980s and 1990s, Vialli delighted fans all over Europe for his ways on and off the field. He will forever be fondly celebrated by us here at Serie All; here is his story.
Gianluca Vialli started his professional career in his hometown club Cremonese. Initially employed as a wingback, he eventually broke out as a natural goal-scorer when he netted 10 goals in his fourth professional season. His performances attracted Sampdoria scouts, who did not think twice and, in the summer of 1984, brought young Vialli to Genoa.
Sampdoria had recently made the jump from the second division, and was just starting to become a force to be reckoned with in Serie A. It is in this context that Vialli established his talents and would first meet his football brother and lifelong friend Roberto Mancini.
The 1984-1985 season was nothing short of memorable for Italian football, whether you are referring to Maradona’s first year playing for Napoli, or Juventus’ first European Cup victory coupled with the Heysel tragedy. In our story, however, the 1984-1985 season has to be remembered as the first time that the world got to witness i Gemelli del Gol (‘the goal twins’) in action – Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli were the perfect attacking duo. Whereas the former was a quick-thinking, vision-driven dribbling maestro, the latter was your textbook athletic, prolific striker, and this combination could not have worked out better for Sampdoria. After a few seasons of adaptation, Vialli turned it up in the 1986-1987 season, scoring 16 goals in all competitions, becoming unanimously one of the best strikers in Europe. Coincidentally, the following season marked the beginning of Sampdoria’s golden dynasty, with Vialli at its very center.
SAMPDORIA’S ASCENSION TO STARDOM
Vially was absolutely instrumental in Samdporia’s 1987-1988 Coppa Italia win, as he contributed with goals and leadership in equal amounts. He became the main man at the club, and would take Italy and Europe by storm in the following seasons. As another Coppa Italia win followed in 1989, Vialli broke all personal scoring records, going for 33 goals for the season, 5 of which came in Sampdoria’s final run in the Cup Winners’ Cup. Europe had started to take notice, and Vialli’s unmatched athleticism and eye for goal were on every manager’s wishlist. Even AC Milan was after him, to which Vialli responded with a firm ‘no’ – he “still had business at Sampdoria”, and would not leave until he had finished what he set out to do.
So Sampdoria began the 1989-1990 season with one of the best teams in Italy and the most famous attacking duo in the world, and that went just as well as you would expect: a Cup Winners’ Cup added to the trophy cabinet and a ticket to the European Super Cup. Vialli had scored 19 total goals, and it looked like he was practically unstoppable, as he entered the flourishing years of his career at age 26. 1990-1991 was historic, with Sampdoria seizing their first, and only Scudetto (to date) in club history – a feat that no fan would have been able to predict just 5 years earlier. In a short time, Vialli had left Italy stunned and simultaneously enamored – everyone loved him, and everyone loved Mancini. The goal twins combined for nearly 40 goals all season, and the stage was set for one final conquest, enough to propel this dynasty onto the Mount Rushmore of Italian football.
Objective: The prestigious European Cup
Vialli kept his scoring habits well into the 1991-1992 season, surpassing 10 league goals for the seventh time in his career. Nevertheless, many still saw Sampdoria as a one-season wonder, and thought that the players felt lucky to simply play premier European football. They could not have been more wrong, and Vialli above all used this disrespect as fuel. Vialli put his team on his back as he ended up with 6 goals in 11 games, carrying Sampdoria all the way to the final – with the help of his right hand, Roberto Mancini. They faced the almighty Barcelona with Johan Cruijff at their helm, in what was sure to become an all-time classic at Wembley Stadium. Not bad for a team that played in Serie B just a decade prior, right?
30,000 Sampdoria fans traveled from Genoa to London to have the chance to witness this once-in-a-lifetime event and show their support to a team that had made them feel on top of the world. Vialli was incredibly close to reaching the pinnacle of football; he could almost feel it. The trophy that every kid wants to lift was mere minutes away from the grasp of his hands, and he could not wait to come out victorious.
In the most classic of underdog stories, Vialli & co. fell just short. Their fight, whilst admirable, was ultimately no match for the Blaugrana.
Vialli had done everything he could,carrying Sampdoria to multiple historic victories, but ultimately missed out on the big one. Here, his chapter with Sampdoria ended. We will never know what went through his head as he saw Ronald Koeman, Hristo Stoichkov, and Pep Guardiola fall in love with the trophy that he so desired, but one thing is sure: this was not Vialli’s last chance at European glory.
LA VECCHIA SIGNORA
Accomplished and decorated, Vialli decided that it was time to leave Sampdoria for a true juggernaut of the sport: Juventus. He arrived with big expectations, and whilst his resume spoke for itself, something made him crumble and lose his form. Despite a UEFA Cup win in 1993, Vialli’s first two seasons at Juventus were lackluster for his standards: 17 goals in two seasons. People were doubting him, some even counting him out and calling for him to retire. He was not included in the final squad for the 1994 World Cup, and it really looked like Vialli’s career was already over, at only age 30. You would think that the pressure put on him since his first day in Turin was to blame here, but Vialli himself would later clear up all doubts on what caused his two-year struggle: “I didn’t understand how they invested billions to buy me, and then made me train on a “potato” (meaning low-quality) field with little assistance and left me alone to worry about everything. I need guidance: if I think too much I become demoralized, I’m obsessive, a perfectionist. I need to think about playing and that’s it. Now I can finally do just that, I have a competent staff around me, and they decide for me. My guidance is Juventus itself and Coach Lippi is the key to everything.” Simply put – let Vialli think about putting the ball past the goalkeeper, and the rest will take care of itself.
And he was right.
The 1994-1995 season saw Vialli’s second coming. Age 31, he was ready to prove the doubters wrong. Vialli scored 17 goals in 30 Serie A appearances, taking the role of vice-captain and contributing to a near-treble season, with wins in Serie A and Coppa Italia, and a UEFA Cup final loss to Parma.
It was safe to say that Vialli was back, and his goal against boyhood club Cremonese on October 23rd, 1994 was proof of that. A stunning bicycle kick strike, showcasing his agility and athleticism, but most importantly, perfectly representative of him as a player. He showed the world that he was not done, and the 1995-1996 season proved to be the year in which he finally cemented himself as one of the greatest Italian players of all time.
With Baggio leaving the team, Vialli was named captain, just in time for Juventus to welcome two former Sampdoria teammates of his: Pietro Vierchwood and Attilio Lombardo. With this new look to the team and a new responsibility, Vialli was ready to conquer the one trophy that had haunted him for years: the Champions League. He led the team perfectly, and despite not having the most prolific campaign, Vialli’s value was unmatched. Juve’s captain showed out with tenacity and intensity in every game, despite nearing his mid 30s, and his star-studded young team benefitted from his leadership.
Vialli started in the UCL final against Ajax on May 22nd, 1996, at 20:30. Three hours later, he lifted the Champions League trophy, and finally felt the pull toward the Italian Football Hall of Fame, as he ascended into greatness and legend.
Vialli had officially accomplished everything.
Resilience.
PLAYER-MANAGER: THE FINAL DANCE
The UCL win of ‘96 was a sigh of relief for Vialli, who had chased that trophy for years. It would have been the perfect way to end his career, but we have to remember that he was still only 32. So, satisfied with his success at Juventus, Vialli left Italy in search of a new challenge, one final dance. That’s how he landed in South London, on Fulham Road: Chelsea FC. His impact was immediate, as he became a fan favorite for the Blues, and in his second season was fittingly named player-manager. His leadership skills had been a defining trait of his for more than a decade, and he was now able to apply them on a greater scale, while still giving it his all on the football pitch. Unsurprisingly, Vialli further added to his trophy cabinet, with a League Cup, a Cup Winners’ Cup, and the European Super Cup, cementing himself as a Chelsea legend in just three seasons. After 87 appearances and 40 goals in London, Vialli decided that it was finally his time. He retired as a player in 1999, and after a few more months at Chelsea, he moved onto Watford for a short stint that ended in 2002.
AZZURRI
Following his spell at Watford, you could say that Vialli rode off into the sunset, as he stayed out of the spotlight for the better part of two decades. In 2019 he was named to an executive role in the Italian national team, and, alongside lifelong brother Roberto Mancini – national team head coach since 2017 – took part in Euro 2020. Despite Vialli’s official role as an executive, he acted as the de facto assistant coach, and was a key, popular figure in the locker room. His fight with cancer was an inspiration to every member of the team and staff, and they respected him for it. This, coupled with his leadership gifts, made Vialli the symbol of encouragement, enthusiasm, and motivation for the Azzurri, and he worked seamlessly with Mancini to take Italy to glory in the final against England.
Their hug during the frenzied, chaotic moments of celebration on the pitch is embedded in every Italian’s memory as a symbol of friendship, relentlessness, and determination. Gianluca Vialli was never one to give up. Even in his toughest moments, the man always found a way to come through and give it his all. Persistent and unrelenting, he taught everyone around him the importance of never losing hope and trying one’s hardest.
He carried these values into his battle with pancreatic cancer, where he fought as valiantly as Gianluca Vialli naturally would. The tumor, as we all sadly know, ultimately prevailed. But his image will forever live in our hearts.
Ciao Gianluca.
References
http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,19/articleid,0931_01_1989_0065_0019_12729937/: Ciao Gianluca http://www.tuttojuve.com/gli-eroi-bianconeri/gli-eroi-in-bianconero-gianluca-vialli-55520: Ciao Gianlucahttps://sport.sky.it/calcio/gianluca-vialli-storia-carriera#05
https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1996/05/24/goodbye-mr-vialli.html