At the international level, Schillaci was the surprise star of the1990 FIFA World Cup, as he helpedItaly to a third-place finish on home soil. Coming on as substitute in Italy's first game, Schillaci went on to score six goals throughout the World Cup, claiming theGolden Boot as the leading goalscorer,[7] and received theGolden Ball as player of the tournament[8] ahead ofLothar Matthäus andDiego Maradona, who placed second and third respectively.[9] That year he also placed second in the1990 Ballon d'Or, behind Matthäus.[6]
Born on 1 December 1964 inPalermo, Italy,[2] from a poor family, Schillaci started to play for an amateur team of his native city,Amat Palermo, the football team of the local bus company bearing the same name.[10] He then signed in 1982 for the Sicilian clubMessina, where he played until 1989 and showed his goal-scoring abilities, most notably winning the Serie B top-scorer award during the1988–89 Serie B season, with 23 goals. He then joinedTurin clubJuventus, and made his debut in Serie A on 27 August 1989.[11] Juventus, the "Old Lady" of Italian football, was at the time suffering from the breakup of the wonder team which dominated Italian football in the 1980s, under managerGiovanni Trapattoni; Schillaci's arrival coincided with a return to form under the direction of former legendary Juventus goalkeeperDino Zoff. He featured prominently for the Turinese club that season, scoring 15 league goals and 21 in all competitions in a very positive year, which ended with Juventus winning both the 1989–90Coppa Italia and theUEFA Cup titles. Due to his clever, inventive, and aggressive attacking style, he was then selected by head coach ofItaly,Azeglio Vicini, to play in the1990 FIFA World Cup, to be hosted by Italy itself, despite being a novice in the arena of national team competitions.[4][6][10]
After the end of the 1990 World Cup, Schillaci played two more years for Juventus, alongside his Italy attacking team-mateRoberto Baggio, before joiningInternazionale.[12] Schillaci ultimately fell short of the expectations of the Inter fans, as well as those of Juventus, mainly because of the physical troubles which he suffered after the 1990 campaign. In 1994, he joined Japanese clubJúbilo Iwata, becoming the first Italian player to play in theJ.League, and he won the J.League Division 1 title with the club in1997.[4][13] He retired in 1999.[10]
Having represented Italy U21, on 31 March 1990, Schillaci made his senior international debut forItaly under managerAzeglio Vicini in a 1–0 friendly away victory overSwitzerland, in Basel.[14] He was subsequently called up for Italy's squad for the1990 FIFA World Cup that was played on home soil.[15]
At the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Schillaci replacedAndrea Carnevale during Italy's first match againstAustria.[16] He scored as the match ended with a 1–0 win for Italy.[17] AgainstCzechoslovakia, alongsideRoberto Baggio. Italy won 2–0, with Baggio and Schillaci both scoring.[18] Schillaci started alongside Baggio in Italy's next two matches of the knock-out stages, also opening the scoring in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, againstUruguay[19] and theRepublic of Ireland respectively,[20] and set upAldo Serena's goal against Uruguay.[21]
For the semi-final match against defending championsArgentina,Gianluca Vialli replaced Baggio in the starting line-up, whereas Schillaci kept his place in the team. The match ended 1–1, with Schillaci scoring his fifth goal of the tournament, but Italy were eliminated after apenalty shoot-out, in which he refused to take a penalty, citing injury as his reason.[10]
After setting up Baggio's opening goal, Schillaci scored the winning goal in Italy's 2–1 win in the third-place match againstEngland from a penalty,[22] and won theGolden Boot,[7] with six goals, as well as theGolden Ball Award for the best player of the tournament.[8] Overall, he scored seven goals in sixteen caps for Italy between 1990 and 1991, scoring his only other goal for Italy in a 2–1 defeat away againstNorway, in 1991, in aUEFA Euro 1992 qualifying match.[23]
Schillaci was a small, quick, agile, and mobilestriker, with an eye for the goal, and solid technique. A prolific, reliable, and opportunistic goalscorer, Schillaci was known in particular for his anticipation, reactions, and his excellent positional sense, which, along with his acceleration, enabled him to make attacking runs to beat opponents to the ball in the area, giving him the reputation for frequently being "in the right place at the right time".[24] He was capable of finishing well both inside and outside the area, as well as fromvolleys, with powerful strikes, and was capable ofscoring with his head as well as with his feet, despite not being particularly imposing in the air; he was also accurate on set pieces and effective on penalties. Although he was primarily known for his selfish and instinctive style of play, he was also capable of linking-up with and playing off of his team-mates, despite not being a particularly notable passer. Due to his goalscoring exploits, his former Messina managerFrancesco Scoglio described him by saying he had "never seen a player who wanted to score as much as him."[4][6][25][26][27][28][29]
Schillaci was diagnosed withcolon cancer in 2022. In September 2024, he was hospitalised with anatrial arrhythmia.[37] Schillaci died on the morning of 18 September 2024, at the age of 59.[38]Inter Milan led the tributes to Schillaci stating "He made an entire nation dream during the Magic Nights ofItalia 90".[39]
^The EuropeanInter-Cities Fairs Cup (1958–1971) was a football tournament organized by foreign trade fairs in European seven cities (London, Barcelona, Copenhagen, and others) played by professional and—in its first editions—amateur clubs. Along these lines, that competition is not recognised by theUnion of European Football Associations as anUEFA club competition; cf."UEFA Europa League: History". Union of European Football Associations. Archived fromthe original on 13 October 2005. Retrieved25 August 2009.
