Gianluca Vialli spent his life winning trophies but he also won hearts

Italian’s achievements as a player and coach will endure in the history books and he left an impact on those who knew him

Gianluca Vialli, who has died aged 58 following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer, the Italian Football Federation has announced. Picture: RUI VIEIRA/PA Wire.

Gianluca Vialli did not lose his battle with cancer, because for him it was never a battle to begin.

“I don’t want to fight cancer,” he told the Guardian in 2020, “because it would be too big and powerful an enemy. I feel this is a journey. It’s about travelling with an unwanted travel companion until hopefully it gets bored and dies before me.”