One of my first favourite players when I was growing up. Such a classy player. I have a really vivid image of him playing for Chelsea against Tromso in the Cup Winners' Cup when I was about 7 years old. Chelsea conceded twice inside 20 minutes and then a ridiculous blizzard came down. The pitch was pretty much unplayable, any semblance of football stopped and Ruud Gullit spent the entirety of that time screaming for someone to call the match off. Vialli was the only player on the pitch though who played like the pitch was a carpet. Still had everything in his arsenal and he scored two fantastic goals where he sat down more Tromso players than there were fans in the stadium. Beautiful close control in arctic snow, all in that legendary bright yellow kit. Chelsea lost that match 3-2 and it was only Vialli that kept them alive. They won the second leg 7-1 (Vialli got a hattrick) in normal conditions but I think a sense of injustice and knowing they were still in the tie is what allowed Chelsea to tear them apart so actively. If not for Vialli that first match would have ended 3-0 as not even Gianfranco Zola could find his feet in those conditions, which is saying something. That's one of my earliest football memories and it has stayed with me as an incredible display of individual calm and brilliance with everything stacked against him, which if you saw his pundit performances appears to be how he approached life as well as football. A real loss
One of my first favourite players when I was growing up. Such a classy player. I have a really vivid image of him playing for Chelsea against Tromso in the Cup Winners' Cup when I was about 7 years old. Chelsea conceded twice inside 20 minutes and then a ridiculous blizzard came down. The pitch was pretty much unplayable, any semblance of football stopped and Ruud Gullit spent the entirety of that time screaming for someone to call the match off. Vialli was the only player on the pitch though who played like the pitch was a carpet. Still had everything in his arsenal and he scored two fantastic goals where he sat down more Tromso players than there were fans in the stadium. Beautiful close control in arctic snow, all in that legendary bright yellow kit. Chelsea lost that match 3-2 and it was only Vialli that kept them alive. They won the second leg 7-1 (Vialli got a hattrick) in normal conditions but I think a sense of injustice and knowing they were still in the tie is what allowed Chelsea to tear them apart so actively. If not for Vialli that first match would have ended 3-0 as not even Gianfranco Zola could find his feet in those conditions, which is saying something. That's one of my earliest football memories and it has stayed with me as an incredible display of individual calm and brilliance with everything stacked against him, which if you saw his pundit performances appears to be how he approached life as well as football. A real loss
That was such an iconic game, they don't play in those sort of conditions these days!!
bloody hell, didn't know about his illness. What a great player he was, I remember him player/managing chelsea and would always change a game when he brought himself on. What a leader.
One of my first favourite players when I was growing up. Such a classy player. I have a really vivid image of him playing for Chelsea against Tromso in the Cup Winners' Cup when I was about 7 years old. Chelsea conceded twice inside 20 minutes and then a ridiculous blizzard came down. The pitch was pretty much unplayable, any semblance of football stopped and Ruud Gullit spent the entirety of that time screaming for someone to call the match off. Vialli was the only player on the pitch though who played like the pitch was a carpet. Still had everything in his arsenal and he scored two fantastic goals where he sat down more Tromso players than there were fans in the stadium. Beautiful close control in arctic snow, all in that legendary bright yellow kit. Chelsea lost that match 3-2 and it was only Vialli that kept them alive. They won the second leg 7-1 (Vialli got a hattrick) in normal conditions but I think a sense of injustice and knowing they were still in the tie is what allowed Chelsea to tear them apart so actively. If not for Vialli that first match would have ended 3-0 as not even Gianfranco Zola could find his feet in those conditions, which is saying something. That's one of my earliest football memories and it has stayed with me as an incredible display of individual calm and brilliance with everything stacked against him, which if you saw his pundit performances appears to be how he approached life as well as football. A real loss
That was such an iconic game, they don't play in those sort of conditions these days!!
My mate was at that Tromso game. To be there was a badge of honour for Chelsea fans, similar to the badge earned by those Charlton fans who attended and withstood the rain at Yeovil!
Vialli was one of those rare players, who was seemingly popular wherever he went.
I once accosted him coming out of the loo in the Jump Club one night in HK... he was very polite but managed to escape by tedious chit chat. He spent the night sipping his drink with Zola watching the antics going on around him, looking as cool as f*ck.
Followed him into a bank on St James St once to get an autograph for my mate, sure he thought I was going to rob him, but he just laughed signed the bit of paper I had, was a total gentleman, and what a player.
One of my first favourite players when I was growing up. Such a classy player. I have a really vivid image of him playing for Chelsea against Tromso in the Cup Winners' Cup when I was about 7 years old. Chelsea conceded twice inside 20 minutes and then a ridiculous blizzard came down. The pitch was pretty much unplayable, any semblance of football stopped and Ruud Gullit spent the entirety of that time screaming for someone to call the match off. Vialli was the only player on the pitch though who played like the pitch was a carpet. Still had everything in his arsenal and he scored two fantastic goals where he sat down more Tromso players than there were fans in the stadium. Beautiful close control in arctic snow, all in that legendary bright yellow kit. Chelsea lost that match 3-2 and it was only Vialli that kept them alive. They won the second leg 7-1 (Vialli got a hattrick) in normal conditions but I think a sense of injustice and knowing they were still in the tie is what allowed Chelsea to tear them apart so actively. If not for Vialli that first match would have ended 3-0 as not even Gianfranco Zola could find his feet in those conditions, which is saying something. That's one of my earliest football memories and it has stayed with me as an incredible display of individual calm and brilliance with everything stacked against him, which if you saw his pundit performances appears to be how he approached life as well as football. A real loss
Always enjoyed watching that Chelsea side. They were a fairly likeable club back then, largely because of players like Vialli.
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Such a cruel illness.
RIP
Vialli was one of those rare players, who was seemingly popular wherever he went.
So sad - RIP Luca
P.S. continued best wishes, Beds.
RIP
I once accosted him coming out of the loo in the Jump Club one night in HK... he was very polite but managed to escape by tedious chit chat. He spent the night sipping his drink with Zola watching the antics going on around him, looking as cool as f*ck.
RIP Gianluca.
RIP