Gianluca Vialli

Cremonese

Vialli's senior career started in 1980 when he signed for local club Cremonese in Serie C1, winning promotion to Serie B. After scoring ten goals for the club as a winger in the 1983–84 Serie B season, he was transferred to Sampdoria.

Sampdoria

Vialli played for Sampdoria between 1984 and 1992, during which time the club had their most successful period in their history. At Sampdoria, he formed a prolific strike partnership with teammate and friend Roberto Mancini, earning the nickname 'The Goal Twins' (in Italian I Gemelli del Gol). Vialli also had a very good relationship with club president Paolo Mantovani and coach Vujadin Boškov, who were both described by Vialli as being father figures. Sampdoria won their first ever Italian Cup in 1985 with Vialli scoring in the final, and would win it again in 1988 and 1989, when Vialli would score a record 13 goals in the tournament. This led to two notable European Cup Winners' Cup runs, where Sampdoria lost the 1989 final before winning the trophy in 1990, with Vialli scoring both goals in the final victory over Anderlecht, and finishing the tournament as top-scorer. Despite losing out to Milan in the 1990 European Super Cup, the club went on to win their first ever Serie A championship in the 1990–91 season, in which Vialli was league top scorer with 19 goals – celebrating many of his goals with a backflip, including one against Inter Milan. The following season, Sampdoria won the Supercoppa Italiana…

Chelsea

Gullit was sacked as Chelsea manager in February 1998 and 33-year-old Vialli was appointed player-manager, becoming the first Italian to manage in the Premier League. Chelsea were already in the semi-finals of the League Cup and the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup, and went on to win both competitions under Vialli, as well as finishing fourth in the Premier League. In beating VfB Stuttgart at the Cup Winners' Cup final on 13 May 1998, at 33 years and 308 days old, Vialli became the youngest manager ever to win a UEFA competition. The record stood for thirteen years until 18 May 2011 when FC Porto's André Villas-Boas won the Europa League at the age of 33 years and 213 days. The following season Chelsea won the UEFA Super Cup by beating Real Madrid 1–0, and finished third in the Premier League, just four points behind champions Manchester United in what was Chelsea's highest league finish since 1970, when they also finished third. After this, Vialli retired from playing. The following season saw Chelsea make their debut in the UEFA Champions League, where they reached the quarter-finals. After a 3–1 first leg victory over Barcelona, they were eventually knocked out 4–6 on aggregate following a 5–1 return leg loss at Camp Nou after extra time. Despite a fifth-place finish in the Premier League, the campaign ended on a high note when Vialli guided Chelsea to a win over Aston Villa in the 2000 FA Cup final. The 2000–01 season started brightly,…

Vialli was a member of Italy's under-21 team for both the 1984 and 1986 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championships where the Azzurrini finished third and second respectively. Overall Vialli represented the Italy U21 team 20 times, scoring 11 goals. He was also the top scorer in the 1986 Under-21 European Championship, with 4 goals, where Italy lost the final to Spain on penalties. In 1985, Vialli made his debut for the Italy senior team in a friendly match against Poland. He was included in Italy's squad for the 1986 FIFA World Cup held in Mexico, appearing with an all-shaved head as a substitute in all four of Italy's matches as back-up for Bruno Conti. Vialli scored his first goal for Italy in a UEFA Euro 1988 qualifier against Malta in 1986. He was included in Italy's squad for the finals of the Euro 1988 competition and scored the winning goal against Spain in the group stage. Although Italy were knocked out by the Soviet Union in the semi-final after losing 0–2, Vialli was named in UEFA's team of the tournament. With the 1990 FIFA World Cup being held on home soil, Vialli was named part of the squad and he was expected to make a huge impact for the hosts. However, after failing to score in the first match against Austria, despite setting up the winning goal via a cross, Vialli missed a penalty against the United States in the next match, hitting the lower near post with keeper Tony Meola diving the other way; he did play a role in the decisive goal, however, scored…

Vialli was considered a versatile forward, who was capable of playing in multiple places along the front line; throughout his career. He was played on the wing, or in a deeper, supporting role, although his preferred position was in the centre as a main striker, where he could take advantage of his offensive movement and opportunism inside the box, as well as his eye for goal. A prolific goalscorer, Vialli was known for his shooting power and accuracy with both feet as well as his head, which allowed him to finish off chances both inside and outside the penalty area. In addition to his ability to score goals, Vialli was also capable of playing off of and creating chances for his teammates, courtesy of his good vision, tactical intelligence, and distribution, which also occasionally saw him play in deeper roles in midfield, as a playmaker or attacking midfielder; he was also endowed with good technical ability, dribbling skills, and ball control, which allowed him to play the ball first time, or beat opponents and retain possession under pressure. A quick, tenacious, hardworking, and energetic player, Vialli was gifted with pace, physicality, and stamina, and was known for his willingness to press opponents off the ball to win back possession. Vialli was seen as a new breed of striker in Italian football, who combined technique and goalscoring ability with speed, athleticism, and physical power. Because of his outstanding athleticism, strength, and agility, he also excelled…