Former Chelsea and Italy striker Gianluca Vialli has died aged 58.
Vialli had been suffering from pancreatic cancer and left his role with Italy’s national team in December.
A statement from the Italian Football Association [FIGC] read: ‘That photo on the Wembley lawn, that hug with Coach Roberto Mancini after Federico Chiesa’s goal against Austria in the round of 16 of the 2021 European Championship, will be one of the images of Gianluca Vialli that we will carry in our hearts forever.
‘Gianluca didn’t make it, he passed away today at the age of 58 after a long illness, always fought head-on, with dignity and with the whole blue family to give him strength in a moment of silent but enormous suffering.
‘Italian football is not only mourning the head of the delegation of the national team: a great man is mourning, who even before that had been a great striker and an appreciated coach.
‘The disappearance of Vialli, which comes a few days after that of Sinisa Mihajlovic, leaves an unfillable void in the whole family of Italian football. To remind him, the Federation has arranged a minute’s silence to be observed before all the matches of the football championships scheduled for next weekend.’
FIGC president Gabriele Gravina said: ‘I am deeply saddened.
‘I hoped until the end that he would be able to perform another miracle, yet I am comforted by the certainty that what he did for Italian football and the blue shirt will never be forgotten.
‘Without beating about the bush: Gianluca was a splendid person and he leaves a void that cannot be filled, in the national team and in all those who have appreciated his extraordinary human qualities.’
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