Salvatore Schillaci (; born 1 December 1964), commonly referred to by his nickname Totò,
is an Italian former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
, who played as a
striker. During his club career, he played for
Messina (1982–1989),
Juventus (1989–1992),
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
(1992–1994) and
Júbilo Iwata (1994–1997).
At the international level he was the surprise star of the
1990 FIFA World Cup, as he helped
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
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 the
Golden Boot as the leading goalscorer,
and received the
Golden Ball as player of the tournament
ahead of established stars
Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German football pundit and former professional player and manager. After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was awarded the ...
and
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...
, who came second and third respectively. That year he also placed second in the
1990 Ballon d'Or, behind Matthäus.
[
]
Club career
Born in Palermo, Italy, from a poor family, Schillaci started to play for an amateur team of his native city, ''Amat Palermo''.[Clemente Angelo Lisi (2011). "A History of the World Cup, 1930–2010". p. 220. Scarecrow Press, 2011.] He then signed in 1982 for the Sicilian club Messina, where he played until 1989 and showed his goal-scoring abilities, most notably winning the Serie B top-scorer Award during the 1988–89 Serie B
The Serie B 1988–89 was the fifty-seventh tournament of this competition played in Italy since its creation.
Teams
Ancona, Monza, Licata, Cosenza and Reggina had been promoted from Serie C, while Avellino and Empoli had been relegated f ...
season, with 23 goals. He then joined Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
club Juventus, and made his debut in Serie A on 27 August 1989. 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 manager Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...
; Schillaci's arrival coincided with a return to form under the direction of former legendary Juventus goalkeeper Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at th ...
. 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 1989–90 Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
and the UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
titles. Due to his clever, inventive, and aggressive attacking style, he was then selected by head coach of Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, Azeglio Vicini
Azeglio Vicini (; 20 March 1933 – 30 January 2018) was an Italian football coach and player, who also served as the President of the Technical Sector of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
One of Italy's most important coaches during ...
, to play in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, to be hosted by Italy itself, despite being a novice in the arena of national team competitions.
After the end of the 1990 World Cup, Schillaci played one more year for Juventus, alongside his Italy attacking team-mate Roberto Baggio, before joining Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
. 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 club Júbilo Iwata, becoming the first Italian player to play in the J.League, and he won the J.League Division 1 title with the club in 1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
.[ He retired in 1999.]
International career
After making one over-age appearance for the Italy Under-21 side, under Cesare Maldini, Schillaci made his senior international debut for Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
under manager Azeglio Vicini
Azeglio Vicini (; 20 March 1933 – 30 January 2018) was an Italian football coach and player, who also served as the President of the Technical Sector of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
One of Italy's most important coaches during ...
, on 31 March 1990, in a 1–0 friendly away win over Switzerland, in Basel. He was subsequently called up for Italy's squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, to be played on home soil.
At the 1990 World Cup, Schillaci replaced Andrea Carnevale
Andrea Carnevale (; born 12 January 1961) is an Italian former footballer, who played as a forward.
Club career
After playing for various Italian teams, Carnevale enjoyed notable success with Napoli from 1986 to 1990, playing alongside Diego ...
during Italy's first match against Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. He scored the decisive goal as the match ended with a 1–0 win for Italy. Against the USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, Schillaci again made an appearance as a substitute, but he started the next match, against Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, alongside Roberto Baggio. Italy won 2–0, with Baggio and Schillaci both scoring. 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, against Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
and the Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
respectively, and set up Aldo Serena
Aldo Serena (; born 25 June 1960) is an Italian former professional footballer, who was usually deployed as a forward. He played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, winning four Serie A titles, among other trophies; he is mainly r ...
's goal against Uruguay.
For the semi-final match against defending champions Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, 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 a penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
, in which he controversially refused to take a penalty, stating injury as the reason for his choice.
After setting up Baggio's opening goal, Schillaci scored the winning goal in Italy's 2–1 win in the third-place match against England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
from a penalty, and won the Golden Boot, with six goals, as well as the Golden Ball Award for the best player of the tournament. 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 against Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, in 1991, in an UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 1992 was a series of parallel association football competitions to be held over 1990 and 1991 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 1992, to be held in Sweden. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held ...
match.
Style of play
Schillaci was a small, quick, agile, and mobile striker, 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". He was capable of finishing well both inside and outside the area, as well as from volleys, with powerful strikes, and was capable of scoring 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 manager Francesco Scoglio described him by saying he had "never seen a player who wanted to score as much as him."
Retirement
Schillaci retired in 1999. Today he lives back in his native Palermo, where he owns a youth academy of football.
He appeared as a guest on '' Craig Doyle Live'' during UEFA Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...
. Former South African national team captain Steven Pienaar
Steven Jerome Pienaar (; born 17 March 1982) is a South African former professional footballer and current assistant coach of the U18 team of the Ajax Youth Academy.
He was a captain of the South African national team. He primarily played as ...
is nicknamed ''Schillo'' after Schillaci.
Personal life
Schillaci's nephew Francesco Di Mariano
Francesco Di Mariano (born 20 April 1996) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Palermo.
Career
Di Mariano started playing football in Palermo, then at the age of 13 he left for Lecce. He made his professional de ...
is also a professional footballer.
Career statistics
Club
International
:Appearances by national team and year
:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.''
Honours
Messina
*Serie C
The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.
The unification of the Lega Pro ...
: 1985–86
* Serie C2: 1982–83
Juventus
*Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 1989–90
*UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
: 1989–90
Internazionale[
*UEFA Cup: 1993–94
Júbilo Iwata
* J.League: ]1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
;Italy
*FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
third place: 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
Individual
* 1990 FIFA World Cup: Golden Boot
* 1990 FIFA World Cup: Golden Ball
* 1990 FIFA World Cup: All-Star Team
*Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
Top-scorer: 1988–89
*Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...
(2nd place): 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
* Onze d'Argent: 1990
Orders
:
5th Class / Knight: '' Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'': 1991
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schillaci, Salvatore
1964 births
Living people
Footballers from Palermo
Italian footballers
Italy international footballers
Italy under-21 international footballers
Italian expatriate footballers
A.C.R. Messina players
Juventus F.C. players
Inter Milan players
Serie A players
Serie B players
Serie C players
1990 FIFA World Cup players
Expatriate footballers in Japan
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Japan
Júbilo Iwata players
J1 League players
Association football forwards
Italy B international footballers
UEFA Cup winning players
Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic