The story of Schillaci, the eternal footballer who saved the south

Italy and football lost ‘Totò’ Schillaciwho died this Wednesday at the age of 59 and will forever be a part of one’s imagination and this sport of passions. At that time, in the middle of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Schillaciwhich is now eternal, marks the rebirth of the south. A true symbol.

That Sicilian player with a marked entrance and a rugged walk became the replacement for the hero in the magical nights of the ‘Nazionale’. The story of the then player of Juventushis victory in the Italian team, has great symbolism: it saved the south from its backwardness, its problems, its distance from the north. Everything is less important if the man of the people, the Sicilian who grew up in a humble place of Palermomade a whole nation’s dream possible with his goals.

In sport, and although the ‘azzurri’ finished third and were not champions (they were eliminated in the semi-finals of Diego Armando Maradona’s Argentinawho defended the title and fell in the final against Germany), ‘Toto’ went to Italy in 1990 Paolo Rossi in Spain 1982. He was the man-goal, and goals equal success, of the Azzurra team.

Humanly, he is the perfect character in every football fairy tale. Born in the neighborhood of Saint Michelangelo of PalermoOr, he is the son of a humble employee of the city council and his adventures in life add a special tone to being the result of a premature birth that almost led to the death of his mother. That seven-month-old baby, however, really wants to continue in this world and move forward even though he is between life and death.

When that summer of 1990 came, Schillaci He is coming off a decisive 12 months in his career. On the way to 25 years old, he was transferred from Messina in Juventuswhich, with him in its ranks, became champions of the UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia. In his second appearance as an international Schillaci sally against Austria replaced Andrea Carnevale and scored Italy’s winning goal. This is the beginning of the legend. The rebirth of the south.

Schillaci It was a real boom. Emotional. Only. During the World Cup, the Messina City Council decided to name him as an honorary citizen. His image began to adorn t-shirts. His younger brother and Salvatore Cascio (the child actor protagonist of Cinema Paradiso) asked live on television to Azeglio Vicini, then Italy coach, to keep him as a starter. Palermo is a party every time Schillaci marked. And all over Italy.

Schillaci has changed his hair and the anonymity of his days in Messina for short hair and glory. The bitter days were lost for him when two serious knee injuries put his career in jeopardy. His success in those calls ‘Magical Nights’ It did not forget his great humility. He didn’t feel it ‘Salvatore’. “I owe everything to my colleagues.” Vicini. And to people. “They drive me,” he declared. It brought thousands and thousands of people to the streets of the north and south of Italy. In the end, he was declared the ‘top scorer’ of that World Cup, with 6 golden goals, and was elected Ballon d’Or of the tournament.

After his time at Juventusin 1992 he signed for Inter and in 1994 he left the Jubilo Iwata. There, in Japan, in 1997 he put ‘Toto’ end of his career. Things were never the same for him after Italy in 1990. In fact, he only scored one more goal for the national team, in a 2-1 loss against Norway in the qualifying phase for Euro 1992. And in his career he played only 16 games for Italy. But he has written his legend and now, after dying from colon cancer, thousands of fans mourn him and will continue to mourn him.