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Gianluca Vialli - RIP

2

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  • Sillybilly
    Sillybilly Posts: 9,236
    RIP
  • Garrymanilow
    Garrymanilow Posts: 13,172
    One of my first favourite players when I was growing up. Such a classy player. I have a really vivid image of him playing for Chelsea against Tromso in the Cup Winners' Cup when I was about 7 years old. Chelsea conceded twice inside 20 minutes and then a ridiculous blizzard came down. The pitch was pretty much unplayable, any semblance of football stopped and Ruud Gullit spent the entirety of that time screaming for someone to call the match off. Vialli was the only player on the pitch though who played like the pitch was a carpet. Still had everything in his arsenal and he scored two fantastic goals where he sat down more Tromso players than there were fans in the stadium. Beautiful close control in arctic snow, all in that legendary bright yellow kit. Chelsea lost that match 3-2 and it was only Vialli that kept them alive. They won the second leg 7-1 (Vialli got a hattrick) in normal conditions but I think a sense of injustice and knowing they were still in the tie is what allowed Chelsea to tear them apart so actively. If not for Vialli that first match would have ended 3-0 as not even Gianfranco Zola could find his feet in those conditions, which is saying something. That's one of my earliest football memories and it has stayed with me as an incredible display of individual calm and brilliance with everything stacked against him, which if you saw his pundit performances appears to be how he approached life as well as football. A real loss
  • MuttleyCAFC
    MuttleyCAFC Posts: 47,730
    Shocked by this. R.I.P. Great player and my age!
  • bristoladdick
    bristoladdick Posts: 1,147
    Very sad news - much too young. RIP Gianluca.
  • North Lower Neil
    North Lower Neil Posts: 22,955
    edited January 2023
    Garrymanilow said:
    One of my first favourite players when I was growing up. Such a classy player. I have a really vivid image of him playing for Chelsea against Tromso in the Cup Winners' Cup when I was about 7 years old. Chelsea conceded twice inside 20 minutes and then a ridiculous blizzard came down. The pitch was pretty much unplayable, any semblance of football stopped and Ruud Gullit spent the entirety of that time screaming for someone to call the match off. Vialli was the only player on the pitch though who played like the pitch was a carpet. Still had everything in his arsenal and he scored two fantastic goals where he sat down more Tromso players than there were fans in the stadium. Beautiful close control in arctic snow, all in that legendary bright yellow kit. Chelsea lost that match 3-2 and it was only Vialli that kept them alive. They won the second leg 7-1 (Vialli got a hattrick) in normal conditions but I think a sense of injustice and knowing they were still in the tie is what allowed Chelsea to tear them apart so actively. If not for Vialli that first match would have ended 3-0 as not even Gianfranco Zola could find his feet in those conditions, which is saying something. That's one of my earliest football memories and it has stayed with me as an incredible display of individual calm and brilliance with everything stacked against him, which if you saw his pundit performances appears to be how he approached life as well as football. A real loss
    That was such an iconic game, they don't play in those sort of conditions these days!!

    https://youtu.be/1hs7JDDBvDI
  • MuttleyCAFC
    MuttleyCAFC Posts: 47,730
    If there was a Heaven FC, it has just been strenghtened by a couple of great strikers.
  • Chris_from_Sidcup
    Chris_from_Sidcup Posts: 36,022
    Always remember as a kid one of my earliest European football memories was watching the Sampdoria side with him, Mancini and Lombardo.
  • hoof_it_up_to_benty
    hoof_it_up_to_benty Posts: 22,450
    Chris_from_Sidcup said:
    Always remember as a kid one of my earliest European football memories was watching the Sampdoria side with him, Mancini and Lombardo.
    I imagine Mancini must be devastated- it's only a couple of weeks since Mihajlovic passed away from cancer. Mancini was close to both.

    Such a cruel illness.
  • Bedsaddick
    Bedsaddick Posts: 24,750
    RIP . Having had Pancreatic Cancer over the last twelve months I know a little bit of what he’s gone through . Terrible disease. 
  • Valley11
    Valley11 Posts: 11,987
    Awful news. A happy go lucky spirit and a great striker in his day.
    RIP
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  • kentaddick
    kentaddick Posts: 18,729
    bloody hell, didn't know about his illness. What a great player he was, I remember him player/managing chelsea and would always change a game when he brought himself on. What a leader.
  • Simonsen
    Simonsen Posts: 5,503
    North Lower Neil said:
    Garrymanilow said:
    One of my first favourite players when I was growing up. Such a classy player. I have a really vivid image of him playing for Chelsea against Tromso in the Cup Winners' Cup when I was about 7 years old. Chelsea conceded twice inside 20 minutes and then a ridiculous blizzard came down. The pitch was pretty much unplayable, any semblance of football stopped and Ruud Gullit spent the entirety of that time screaming for someone to call the match off. Vialli was the only player on the pitch though who played like the pitch was a carpet. Still had everything in his arsenal and he scored two fantastic goals where he sat down more Tromso players than there were fans in the stadium. Beautiful close control in arctic snow, all in that legendary bright yellow kit. Chelsea lost that match 3-2 and it was only Vialli that kept them alive. They won the second leg 7-1 (Vialli got a hattrick) in normal conditions but I think a sense of injustice and knowing they were still in the tie is what allowed Chelsea to tear them apart so actively. If not for Vialli that first match would have ended 3-0 as not even Gianfranco Zola could find his feet in those conditions, which is saying something. That's one of my earliest football memories and it has stayed with me as an incredible display of individual calm and brilliance with everything stacked against him, which if you saw his pundit performances appears to be how he approached life as well as football. A real loss
    That was such an iconic game, they don't play in those sort of conditions these days!!

    https://youtu.be/1hs7JDDBvDI
    My mate was at that Tromso game. To be there was a badge of honour for Chelsea fans, similar to the badge earned by those Charlton fans who attended and withstood the rain at Yeovil! 

    Vialli was one of those rare players, who was seemingly popular wherever he went. 
  • ricky_otto
    ricky_otto Posts: 22,600
    RIP.
  • bobmunro
    bobmunro Posts: 20,848
    Great striker, very good coach, and an all round nice guy by all accounts, and certainly by the way he always came across.

    So sad - RIP Luca


    P.S. continued best wishes, Beds.
  • se9addick
    se9addick Posts: 32,038
    Really saddened by this, RIP
  • Addick Addict
    Addick Addict Posts: 39,795
    So sad. Vialli was very same age that my wife's twin brother was when taken by this dreadful disease. Fine footballer, coach and person.

    RIP 
  • cafc_se7
    cafc_se7 Posts: 2,274
    RIP Gianluca. Awful news! Absolute legend! 
  • cafc999
    cafc999 Posts: 4,967
    RIP Luca
  • Algarveaddick
    Algarveaddick Posts: 21,156
    Such sad news, always came accross as a really nice bloke. RIP
  • Weegie Addick
    Weegie Addick Posts: 16,523
    Horrid news. RIP. 
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  • Lincsaddick
    Lincsaddick Posts: 32,355
    Nice man, great footballer and first Italian to manage in England .. sad loss .. R I P
  • Pavoren007
    Pavoren007 Posts: 2,525
    Had no idea Luca was battling cancer. Very sad indeed! A class act taken too soon - RIP 🇮🇹 
  • Curb_It
    Curb_It Posts: 21,229
    Terrible news.  

    I once accosted him coming out of the loo in the Jump Club one night in HK... he was very polite but managed to escape by tedious chit chat.  He spent the night sipping his drink with Zola watching the antics going on around him, looking as cool as f*ck.

    RIP Gianluca. 
  • StrikerFirmani
    StrikerFirmani Posts: 2,742
    That was a real shock, only 58.

    RIP
  • LennyLowrent
    LennyLowrent Posts: 2,705
    RIP Vialli great player played with a smile
  • cazo
    cazo Posts: 1,483
    Rip. Far to young and what a player he was and man.🙏🙏
  • Chippycafc
    Chippycafc Posts: 14,150
    RIP to a fantastic player and a nice man.
  • jondon76
    jondon76 Posts: 294
    Followed him into a bank on St James St once to get an autograph for my mate, sure he thought I was going to rob him, but he just laughed signed the bit of paper I had, was a total gentleman, and what a player.
  • The Red Robin
    The Red Robin Posts: 26,127
    Garrymanilow said:
    One of my first favourite players when I was growing up. Such a classy player. I have a really vivid image of him playing for Chelsea against Tromso in the Cup Winners' Cup when I was about 7 years old. Chelsea conceded twice inside 20 minutes and then a ridiculous blizzard came down. The pitch was pretty much unplayable, any semblance of football stopped and Ruud Gullit spent the entirety of that time screaming for someone to call the match off. Vialli was the only player on the pitch though who played like the pitch was a carpet. Still had everything in his arsenal and he scored two fantastic goals where he sat down more Tromso players than there were fans in the stadium. Beautiful close control in arctic snow, all in that legendary bright yellow kit. Chelsea lost that match 3-2 and it was only Vialli that kept them alive. They won the second leg 7-1 (Vialli got a hattrick) in normal conditions but I think a sense of injustice and knowing they were still in the tie is what allowed Chelsea to tear them apart so actively. If not for Vialli that first match would have ended 3-0 as not even Gianfranco Zola could find his feet in those conditions, which is saying something. That's one of my earliest football memories and it has stayed with me as an incredible display of individual calm and brilliance with everything stacked against him, which if you saw his pundit performances appears to be how he approached life as well as football. A real loss
    Always enjoyed watching that Chelsea side. They were a fairly likeable club back then, largely because of players like Vialli. 
  • ShootersHillGuru
    ShootersHillGuru Posts: 50,625
    Wow. I’m shocked by that. RIP

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