2023年1月6日 星期五

Gianluca Vialli 1964 - 2023

我車名宿吉安盧卡．維亞利，於英國時間 1 月 6 日，因胰臟癌復發，離開了足球。


女足訓練前默哀。

男足訓練前默哀。

Zola 和 Wise 致敬。

Flo 和 Terry 致敬。

AZP 和小詹致敬。

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以下內容出自官網：

Gianluca Vialli 1964-2023

06 JAN 2023


Everyone associated with Chelsea Football Club is devastated to learn of the passing of Gianluca Vialli, our former player and manager, at the age of just 58.

As soon as he walked through the door at Stamford Bridge when already a global football star, Luca declared his wish to become a Chelsea legend. It is a target he undoubtedly reached, revered for his work on the pitch and in the dugout during some of the most successful years in our history. Loved by fans, players and staff at Stamford Bridge, Luca will be sorely missed not just by the Chelsea community, but the entire footballing world, including in his native Italy, where he was such an iconic figure.

Our thoughts are with Luca’s wife Cathryn, his daughters Sofia and Olivia, and the rest of his family and his friends at this terribly sad time.

Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali said: ‘This is truly an awful day for Chelsea Football Club. Gianluca’s legend will live on at Stamford Bridge. His impact as a player, a coach and most importantly as a person, will be forever written across our club’s history. We send our heartfelt and deepest condolences to his family and friends.’

Luca Vialli arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 1996, shortly after skippering Juventus to Champions League glory. Considered one of the best strikers of his generation, his capture by another former Serie A great, his long-time friend Ruud Gullit, further underlined the steep upward curve Chelsea were on.


What was missing at the Bridge was silverware, and in his first season Luca played a pivotal role in bringing a first major trophy to SW6 since 1971.

Trailing 2-0 to Liverpool at half-time, our FA Cup aspirations were hanging by a thread. At a frenzied Stamford Bridge, though, the Blues turned a fourth-round tie on its head, Vialli completing the comeback with a brace. The 4-2 win remains one of Chelsea’s greatest days.

They were vintage Vialli goals, too. The first, a classy outside-of-the-boot finish after latching on to a Dan Petrescu pass; the second, a powerful header following the type of electric movement in the box Vialli had long made his name with.

His other attributes as an all-round striker were his strength and hold-up play, the foundation for accurate finishing with either foot, as well as a fondness for catching opponents unawares with shots struck early and often to the near post.

The former Italian international finished his first season at Stamford Bridge with 11 goals in 34 games. Gullit increasingly preferred a pairing of Gianfranco Zola and Mark Hughes up front, meaning several of those appearances were off the bench, including in the FA Cup final, won with a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough. After the semi-final, in which Vialli had been an unused sub, captain Dennis Wise revealed a vest saying ‘Cheer up Luca, we love you xx’.


It epitomised the sentiment towards a man who had already made himself hugely popular with players and fans alike. Charming, self-effacing and determined, the urbane Vialli’s determination to adopt popular sayings from the English language and the manner in which he embraced London life contributed to that immense likeability.

Goals helped, too. He scored what would prove the winner at Old Trafford in November ’96, nutmegging Peter Schmeichel and celebrating in front of the travelling Blues contingent. That magical moment was soon commemorated in song, to the tune of That’s Amore, heard up and down the country, and later over Europe: ‘When the ball hits the back of the Old Trafford net, that’s Vialli!’ The love between player and fanbase was very real indeed.


That connection only intensified midway through the 1997/98 campaign, one in which Vialli had bagged four goals in a game for the first time in his illustrious career, in a win at Barnsley, and netted a famously defiant brace in the Tromso snow. Following the shock departure of Gullit in February ‘98, Vialli took the reins at Stamford Bridge a few days before the second leg of a League Cup semi-final at home to Arsenal. Now player-manager, the Italian selected himself and the dressing room toasted the occasion with pre-match champagne.


The touch of class Gullit brought to the Bridge would be further extended under Vialli, who also had the happy knack of winning important matches. Arsenal were overcome and the Blues won the League Cup final, swiftly followed by the Cup Winners’ Cup. For the first of those finals he did not involve himself on the pitch, for the second he did, although it was his fellow star from Serie A, Zola, who scored the only goal seconds after being brought off the bench. It was Vialli who finished the team’s top scorer that season. 


When victory over Real Madrid added the UEFA Super Cup to make a unique treble in the 1998 calendar year, Vialli had eclipsed his predecessors, writing his name into Blues history as our most successful manager in terms of trophies lifted. Even now, only Jose Mourinho has won more than his five as our coach.

Vialli continued as player-manager in 1998/99, although he restricted himself to just 20 on-pitch appearances, mostly in cup competitions. Highlights included a hat-trick against Aston Villa, on a night he handed John Terry his Chelsea debut, a brace at Highbury, also in the League Cup, and the winning goal in his final game as a professional, a 2-1 Premiership win over Derby on the last day of the season.

It brought the curtain down on a campaign in which we had gone as close as we ever did to winning the title between 1955 and 2005. We eventually finished third, just four points off Manchester United, having only lost three league games. It had been a long time since a Chelsea team and the word consistency had gone together so well. Sadly, a succession of frustrating draws late in the season stopped us going all the way.

After the continental flair that Gullit’s ‘sexy football’ approach had brought to the Bridge, Vialli added structure and regularity, both vital building blocks in Chelsea’s rise.

He had strengthened our defending with the recruitment of another stand-out player from Serie A in Marcel Desailly, and Albert Ferrer from Barcelona, an on-pitch opponent of Vialli’s from an appearance in a European Cup final at Wembley.

The defence of our own Cup Winners’ Cup crown had ended at the hands of Real Mallorca in the semi-finals, but more incredible European exploits – and domestic silverware – was to follow in 1999/00.

It was the season in which we competed in the Champions League for the first time, thanks to the high Premiership finish Vialli masterminded. We made it all the way to the quarter-finals, drawing two memorable games with AC Milan, going to Galatasaray’s ‘Hell’ and winning 5-0, and then beating Barcelona 3-1 in one of the very best nights the Bridge has witnessed.

Despite a heavy defeat in Camp Nou in the second leg, the season would still finish on a high as Aston Villa were beaten 1-0 in the last FA Cup final at the old Wembley.


An impressive victory against Man United in the Charity Shield got 2000/01 off to the perfect start, but relationships between Vialli and some of his players had worsened, and when results did too, he was sacked in September 2000, as the club changed direction by opting for an experienced manager in Claudio Ranieri, after a run of young player-managers.

The name Vialli was sung in the stands for weeks afterwards, testament to the esteem and love in which he was held at Stamford Bridge.

A brief spell as Watford manager followed before he turned his hand to punditry, charity work, book writing and, in 2019, a role with the Italy team. Working with his great friend and former Sampdoria strike partner Roberto Mancini, Vialli played his part as the Azzurri won Euro 2020 at Wembley, a stadium that meant so much to him during his Chelsea years, in a city he called home until his death. 

Vialli handled the pancreatic cancer that afflicted him on and off for five years in the same way he dealt with what football threw at him: with courage, humility, and humour. His 2018 book, ‘Goals: Inspirational Stories to Help Tackle Life's Challenges’ is a profoundly moving collection of tales offering insight into the strength of the human spirit, concluding with Vialli’s own brave battle with this cruel illness. 

A regular visitor to the Bridge later in life, making the journey from his home around the corner, Vialli was met with universal acclaim by supporters young and old. In May 2018, he managed a Chelsea Legends team against Inter Milan at the stadium. It is a source of some comfort that in his final public appearance at Stamford Bridge, Luca was joined by the likes of Zola, Wise and Roberto Di Matteo, fellow Blues legends he played alongside and later managed during an iconic period in Chelsea history. That the game was in memory of Ray Wilkins, Luca’s great friend and assistant at Chelsea, only makes that occasion more poignant.


A brilliant striker, a trophy-winning manager and a wonderful man, Luca’s place in the pantheon of Chelsea greats is assured. He will be deeply missed.



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‘He had a heart of gold, he wanted the best for us’ – Graeme Le Saux pays tribute to Gianluca Vialli

07 JAN 2023


When Graeme Le Saux returned to play for Chelsea again in 1997, he had Gianluca Vialli as a team-mate. Very soon he was also his manager and they shared in great victories and trophy triumphs. Following the Italian legend’s sad passing today, Le Saux shares with us his memories of Luca the player, the coach and the person…

Thinking about Luca’s pedigree as a player, I straightaway recall his discipline, his idiosyncrasies in the way he prepared for matches and the way he prepared his body for training. He was such a disciplined person to the point where we would try to help him relax a little by sort of taking the mickey out of him and winding him up, both when he was a player and then subsequently when he became a coach.

Luca was very serious about his profession and he was a great example to all of us, especially those who previously had not really understood the connection between being a footballer and professionalism. He was at the vanguard of it for that generation, coming from the environment he was used to in Italy and at Juventus particularly.


His attention to detail he took into every part of his life. He was a fascinating character - a wonderful personality, very intelligent, very well-read and well-rounded. He had very high standards for himself and for what he expected.

We used to sort of joke about the quality of life that he lived - he was right up there when it came to attention to detail and as a player, he took that into his game.

He was incredibly hard-working and never let his standards drop, always setting them high for himself and the people around him, whether it was in the gym, in training or what he ate. If he got served a bowl of soggy pasta, my goodness you better watch out! It was like an insult to the family name! And also to him as a professional.

I think he found it hard to relax and not be serious because that was the type of person he was but he loosened up as well. He got the English sense of humour, as all the international players that came into Chelsea at that time had to adapt to the ‘Wisey factor’. Luca learned to enjoy the dressing room and he was a really amazing personality within it.


As a player, I think he was unique in terms of his approach and as good a player as you could play with in that sense. Physically he was so strong - broad-shouldered, a powerful runner, great quality. When I think about games I think about that one at Tromso where in the worst conditions, he stood out as the star player in that game.

There were loads of moments. I could go on forever about Luca as a player.

As a manager, I think he did find it more difficult when he sort of got thrown into the role. That transition between player and coach was a big challenge for him and it came with some consequences as well, taking over the way he did and with it being his first job. We were a very experienced dressing room so we were able to help him in that period as well.

It must be frustrating for any player who's coming towards the end of their playing career and then trying to transition into a different role but within the same club. That was a big challenge but Luca’s usual dedication and commitment was there and I think he felt that with such an experienced dressing room, it was more a case of him empowering us than it being just about him.

The trophy successes we had in 1998 was supported by him and it continued, slightly reset, and he did a very good job at keeping us going and brought his own style to it.


The example of him bringing out the champagne before his first match in charge, against Arsenal, was typical of a guy who was confident in himself, believed in what he was doing, and had a heart of gold in terms of wanting the best for us. He had to make difficult decisions as well during that period because he had to suddenly be the coach and not the dressing room leader as a player, instead leading in a different way with different pressures.


As a person, Luca was great! He always wanted to be part of what was happening and there was a group of us that would go out in London regularly. Robbie Di Matteo, Franco Zola, Dennis Wise myself, Dan Petrescu, Luca, and Frank Leboeuf would come out sometimes as well. It was not a cliquey group, it was open to everyone, and we'd go out regularly for nights out, for meals, and our wives and partners would all be involved as well.

It was way beyond a football team. There was a group of experienced players that were all at that same stage in our careers, all similar ages, late 20s, early 30s, and we had a bond and that is why it's such an emotional day today.

It's a bond that goes way beyond even a tight-knit dressing room. It was friendship, we cared about each other and our families, it was all tied up in the same values that we all shared as people.


The last thing I want is for this to sound like I'm talking about me and that I want a pat on the back, I don’t, but that's why I'm so grateful that I pursued an ambition of getting everyone back together for the Legends game at Stamford Bridge in 2018, when it was good that the club supported it.

I had spoken to another former player from a different club who's older than me and he said the only time he saw his old team-mates nowadays is at funerals.

I remember as clear as day that when it came to speaking to some of my old team-mates about the Legends game, I said I'm putting together this game, Chelsea have agreed to be part of it, but it's very easy for people to say no because none of us are as good as we were as players. One of the things I spoke to a lot of them about was this guy who said he only ever saw his team-mates at funerals. I said to them we can't be that group!

Oh my god, it's never been more relevant now and thank goodness we all got together because it was just brilliant.


Luca coached the team that night and with him being there both at the game but also in the build-up and afterwards, with everyone being there too, just shows how important it is to do those sort of things, to celebrate each other and celebrate what we've achieved together and who we are now. It’s not just about reminiscing.

All power to Luca for being part of that when he was going through his illness at the time. None of us will ever forget his speech before the game and that now becomes a memory of celebration of Gianluca Vialli.

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樂索大叔這篇訃告寫得真摯感人，堪稱典範。

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