Italia '90 hero who broke Irish hearts hospitalised but family hit out at 'nasty rumours'
Toto Schillaci broke Ireland's hearts by scoring the only goal for Italy against Jack Charlton's men in the 1990 World Cup quarter-final in Rome. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2022
Irish football fans will be wishing Toto Schillaci well after he was admitted to hospital at the weekend.
Schillaci broke Ireland's hearts by scoring the only goal for Italy against Jack Charlton's men in the 1990 World Cup quarter-final in Rome. But he has visited the country a number of times since then, and has always been received warmly.
Schillaci, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2022, is in a ‘stable condition’ at a hospital in Palermo, his family said in a statement.
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His family, in their statement, hit out at rumours around Schillaci's health.
“Given the countless calls from the media and the nasty rumours circulating, we clarify that our beloved Totò is in stable condition and is continuously checked by an expert team of doctors night and day. Come on, Totò,” the family said.
The 59-year-old was leading scorer at the 1990 World Cup, with six of his seven goals for Italy coming at that tournament on home soil.
Reflecting on the World Cup semi-final defeat in 1990 to Argentina on penalties, Schillaci said: "It was as if a large building had toppled on me. I spent more than two hours in the changing room smoking, and I cried as well.
"It was something that seemed to have slipped through our fingers and the disappointment and sadness was very great. I would have readily given up my Golden Boot award in order to have won the World Cup."
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