‘Larger than life’ - Former Chelsea stars pay tribute to Gianluca Vialli after sad passing at just 58

A number of former Chelsea favourites have paid tribute to Gianluca Vialli after he passed away at the age of 58 on Thursday night.

The Italian became a true legend during his time as a player and player-manager at Stamford Bridge, helping the Blues to an impressive haul of silverware after he moved to the Premier League just months after helping Juventus win the Champions League in 1996. By the time he departed the club in 2000, Vialli had played in lead role in two FA Cup Final wins, a League Cup Final triumph and the Cup Winners Cup Final win against Stuttgart.

Vialli would go on to manage Watford and also worked alongside former Sampdoria team-mate Roberto Mancini as he formed part of the coaching setup with the Italian national side. The duo were filmed embracing in celebrating after their side’s Euro 2020 Final win over England last year and had forged a lifelong bond from their early days in the game.

The news of Vialli’s battle with pancreatic cancer brought support from around the world of football and the response to his passing on Thursday has delivered a number of emotional tributes from his former team-mates.

Chelsea described their former player-manager as ‘loved by fans, players and staff’ during his four-year stay with the club.

An emotional club statement read: “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.”

A number of former Blues stars have also paid their own personal tributes to Vialli in the immediate aftermath of the sad news breaking on Friday morning.

Gianfranco Zola featured alongside Vialli with the Blues and at international level with Italy and the Stamford Bridge favourite has paid his own poignant tribute to his former team-mate via his Instagram account, saying: We won, together, many games and shared some of the best moments of our lives. For the love of our ball we collided sometimes. No discounts but always with utmost respect. Because, deep down, we’ve always been ourselves: two Italian guys and a ball. Hi Luca, travel safe buddy.”

Former Blues star Scott Minto also recalled his experience playing alongside the Italian at Stamford Bridge prior to his own move to Benfica.

He told talkSPORT: “It’s a very emotional time because it’s not just about him as a player, it’s about the person – and he was just an incredible person. He came to Chelsea as this superstar and yet he was just one of the lads. He didn’t really speak English, first of all. He’d have these English books for children, like ‘The Cat Jumped Over the Dog’. We would all look at each other, but within six months, he was fluent. His determination just showed in everything. And his class… he was such a classy guy.”

Former Chelsea defender Michael Duberry told Sky Sports News: “It’s a total shock. Very sad, a little bit surreal. I knew he was ill but like any death it’s just a shock that he’s passed away and left us. One thing, you look at pictures, he was always smiling, he was bubbly, he was larger than life, the dressing room banter, he was always in the middle of it. Even as a manager, he was a bubbly person, that’s how I’ll remember him.”