The announcement on Friday of the death of the man who was nicknamed "Lucagol" or "Il Re Leone" (the Lion King) aroused a wave of emotion in the world of football and in Italy, especially among his former clubs.
"Goodbye Gianluca, you will always be remembered," the Italian national team wrote on their Twitter account.
"We will remember you as a boy and a relentless centre-forward", reacted Sampdoria de Genoa on its website.
"We will not forget your 141 goals (with Sampdoria, editor's note), your aerial kicks, your cashmere shirts, your earring, your platinum blond hair, your Ultras bomber jacket. You have given us so much. "
The Italian Federation has announced that a minute's silence will be held in all Italian stadiums this weekend.
Gianluca Vialli in the jersey of Juventus Turin during the Champions League semi-final against FC Nantes, April 3, 1996 in Turin © Patrick HERTZOG / AFP/Archives
The ex-international (59 caps, 16 goals) distinguished himself above all in club, winning the three European Cups that existed at the time, the Champions League (1996), the Cup Cup (1990, 1998 ) and the UEFA Cup (1993).
"So many people will miss you. A legend for us and for all of football", also reacted to Chelsea, where he was a player and coach.
Apotheosis
As a technician, his apotheosis came late: he joined the management of Mancini's Nazionale and supported his former teammate and alter ego at Samp during the Italian coronation at the Euro in 2021, when he was already sick.
Italian striker GianLuca Vialli in the Chelsea jersey during a friendly match in Hong Kong, May 22, 1999 © ROBYN BECK / AFP/Archives
"He's an unwanted travel companion, but I have to move on," Vialli said of the disease in a documentary broadcast by Rai.
He who has never won a title in the jersey of Italy experienced this supreme happiness at the Euro alongside Mancini, who had entrusted him with the post of head of the Italian delegation.
In tears, the two men had shared a long embrace at the final whistle, after the victorious penalty shoot-out against England.
The image had gone around the world and sealed their friendship a little more.
Both born in 1964, "i gemelli del gol" (the twins of the goal) made the heyday of the Luigi-Ferraris stadium in Genoa.
Mancini in construction, Vialli in finishing, the duo notably offered a European Cup Winners' Cup (1990), a national title (1990-1991) and a C1 final at Sampdoria.
After 321 matches and 141 goals, Vialli left Samp and Mancini headed for Turin.
The child of Cremona from a wealthy family, who grew up in a castle, joined Juve in 1992 for a record sum at the time (the equivalent of 16.5 million euros).
Gianluca Vialli (L) and coach Roberto Mancini before an Italy match at the Euro, June 26, 2021 in London © Laurence Griffiths / POOL/AFP/Archives
With the "Old Lady", he added to his record a UEFA Cup (1993), alongside Roberto Baggio, and a Champions League (1996).
"Little Italy" at Chelsea
A period, however, darkened a posteriori by the match-fixing and doping trials against Juve.
As early as 1998, AS Roma coach Zdenek Zeman was surprised at the increase in muscle mass of Alessandro Del Piero and Vialli.
"Creatine, yes, we took it for a few months. Like everyone else. Legally," swept Gianluca Vialli in an interview in 2018 with Corriere della Sera.
While few Italian players left Serie A at the time, he joined England in 1996 and made Chelsea a "Little Italy" with compatriots Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Di Matteo.
Cup Winners' Cup, FA Cup, League Cup, his trophy cabinet is still filling up.
His love affair with the Blues continues on the bench, where he even held the position of player-coach for a time.
Coach Vialli won four trophies including a Cup, but was sacked after two seasons, due to poor results and conflicting relationships with some players.
After a short experience at Watford, he finds Italy and his friend Mancini.
Until this embrace of an evening in July 2021. "There was love, friendship, fear too (...) sums up Vialli. "These tears were filled with so many things".
© 2023 AFP