Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci, a former Italy striker best known for leading his country to victory in the 1990 World Cup, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 59.
Juventus was one of the football teams in Italy to honor Schillaci, who rose to fame due to his spectacular goal-scoring performances during his nation’s home World Cup. The club posted an image of Schillaci wearing a Juve shirt along with the words “Ciao Toto” on social media.
According to Italian media, Schillaci passed away from colon cancer at the “Civico” hospital in Palermo.
Schillaci started his career in the early 1980s at Messina and had some success in the club game. He played for Juventus and Inter Milan.
However, he turned into a national hero in the summer of 1990 when he scored six goals to help Italy advance to the World Cup semifinals.
In front of players such as Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona—the former of whom won the tournament with the then-West Germany—Schillaci took home the Golden Boot for being the tournament’s top scorer and the Golden Ball for player of the tournament.
Argentina eliminated Italy in the round of four on penalties, with legendary Napoli player Maradona contributing to the defeat of the host country in front of his own supporters in Naples.
With only one more goal in his career, Schillaci, a 16-time cap winner for his nation, departed Inter four years after the 1990 World Cup to join Jubilo Iwata in Japan, where he completed his career.
