Nervous, white as a sheet and with the eyes of a nation transfixed on him, he could probably have heard the simultaneous beats of the hearts of those in the Stadio Olimpico in his head. Salvatore Schillaci was about to announce himself not only into Italian consciousness but into history. He didn’t know it then, at the time he looked nervously, a man with imposter syndrome fuelling his anxiety. In moments, he would be wheeling away in celebration, giving birth to those wide Sicilian eyes, he didn’t believe it but neither did Italy, all of the before was gone, in moments he had gone from unknown to saint.
The outpouring of emotion all over the world says a lot about ‘Toto’. ‘The man who made the nation dream’ were the words of Italian Prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, this was true. Italy had so much hope invested in Italia 90 and the wave of emotion that carried them through this campaign was surfed with a man who seemed to be the outlet for it. Every time the ball hit the back of the net, all six times, it felt like the relief and exaltation of Italy came out of Salvatore’s eyes and expressions. For him to pass away at 59-years of age through colon cancer, as with so many is too young, however, what he leaves behind is an embodiment not just of how football should be enjoyed but also, life itself.
‘Toto’ as he would become to be known would finish top scorer at Italia 90, not bad considering his second game for the Azzurri was against Austria in that day of days in the first game of the World Cup on home soil. Arguably, he should not even have been there. By his own admission he was just happy to be included in the 22 and did not expect to play for a moment. Coach, Azeglio Vicini, had said to him in training before that he had ability (how nice) and that perhaps, just maybe he may get a few minutes. Whatever the reason, his first competitive game would come in Italy’s opening game and his story would begin. Soon, Gianluca Vialli would pass him the ball and the rest would be history, his story would start and in turn so would a nation.
The story was and is so beautiful for numerous reasons. Firstly, for the world, nobody knew who he was, even in Italy he was a last-minute gamble. It was an age before 15-year-old boys knew who was in the Palermo C team due to computer games, this was an age where we watched the World Cup for moments like these. We waited to see players like Toto, Roger Milla, Carlos Valderama, Marius Lacatus and Dragan Stojkovic arrive in Italy to wow us and make us wonder about these talents we had never seen. Schillaci embodied that and with a nation so used to a plethora of stars, he gave Italy a moment like this when all eyes were on Roberto Mancini, Vialli, Roberto Donadoni and so many more. Now they something unexpected, a hero from the South.
It was a long way from his humble beginnings in Palermo. His father had always lived in the same flat in Sicily, it’s probably as you can imagine, high rise, white and looking over a dusty red football pitch for kids with goal posts that once were not stripped of paint. It was small and there are many like them that will hold no fame or meaning. In the documentary ‘Italia 90 – Four weeks that changed the World’, Toto revisits the flat to see his father and make a joke about that time. He said that once he had made his name in Italia 90 (either during or just after the tournament) he returned to see his father, who was being waving ‘like the Pope’ to a screaming mob underneath him simply shouting ‘TOTO’.
It was his own comfort but his own regret that he is remembered by most simply for those four weeks. In truth, if any of us left this life with such a legacy in such a short time then we would feel like we had achieved everything we could have ever dreamed of but that doesn’t mean life for him did not exist outside of this Italia 90 bubble. Amat Palermo, his first club, were named after the local bus company and it was here that he came into the view of Messina. He spent many a happy year here from 1982 to 1989 and all of a sudden, the stars aligned. After scoring 23 goals in Serie B, he was snapped up by Juventus and to his own amazement managed to carry on his streak by netting 15 times in Serie A and 21 times in all competitions.
Let us not forget that this was a time where Calcio ruled the World and he was managing this against some of the best defences and goalkeepers ever assembled in one league to this day. His small stature and agile movement saw him make basic goals look complex and his celebrations were so iconic that he managed to maximise the experience of goalscoring to a euphoric high for those watching and of course himself. It was on the back of this season that he would be called up to the national team and for him the honour of representing his country would always be the priority.
Those four weeks, ‘Mio Dio’ as the Italians say. It is true that Toto went on to play for Juventus and then Inter after Italia 90 before jetting off to Japan to finish his career. Perhaps the distance made sense, he would admit the rest of his career did not hit the heights of ‘un’estate Italiana’ especially when those ‘Notti Magiche’ were being sung about by Edoardo Bennato and Gianni Nannini. How can you beat that? Its impossible surely?
Salvatore, followed up the header against the Austrians with a goal against Czechoslovakia before perhaps the best goal of the World Cup for him against Uruguay. The long kick from Walter Zenga was beautifully touched through and dummied so that the ball came to him first time allowing Toto to hammer the ball over Fernando Alvez in the Uruguayan goal. It dipped perfectly and he was brought to the ground celebrating whilst hands aloft, eyes bulging, drenched in Italian pride and emotion. He would see off the Irish punishing a mistake and score in the semi finals against Argentina but it wasn’t to be. Roberto Baggio giving him the final present of the campaign by allowing him to finish top scorer after giving him the penalty against England to finish top of the standings at Italia 90. Toto would finish second that year behind Lothar Matthaus for the Ballon D’Or and made his mark in history.
The passing of Salvatore is hard for many around the world and not just in Italy. The World Cup in 1990 brought a fresh look to football, it was modern, there was a beauty about it a romance but it kept its secrets and allowed the mind just enough information to look at it and dream of it in a way few championships have. At the heart of it was a man who wasn’t as spectacular as many in that tournament and he knew it. What Toto did was take an opportunity and run with it with all the passion, emotion and pride that one should. He lived life that summer and for that he will be as eternal as the city he created those memories in.
Words Richard Hall
@RichHall80