Nicknamed Toto, the diminutive Italian became a hero when his six goal haul fired the home nation to a third-placed finish at the 1990 World Cup
IN every World Cup there is always one name, one player, who rises to prominence.
But there can be few who enjoyed such a meteoric rise to stardom as Salvatore Schillaci.
The man they called Toto was surprise inclusion in the Italy squad after a season that had seen him score 15 times in 30 games for Juventus.
However, he took his chance when it came to him spectacularly well.
And while his career didn't quite scale the heights he hit during Italia '90, his name will be forever associated with the competition.
When he received his call-up to the Italian squad for the World Cup, Schillaci had won just a single cap for his country, in a friendly against Switzerland in Basel.
And even though he got the nod from Italy manager Azeglio Vicini, he wasn’t really expected to figure much in the tournament.
Why? Because he had some pretty impressive competition.
There was the Sampdoria duo Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli.
There was Napoli’s Andrea Carnevale and Inter’s Aldo Serena.
And there was the ‘Divine Ponytail’ himself, Roberto Baggio.
And after that there was Salvatore Schillaci, the sixth choice striker.
“I would have been just as happy to be sitting on the bench,” he said later.
While he was, not surprisingly, left out of the starting XI to face Austria in the tournament’s opening game he did come on as a substitute for Carnevale in the 75th minute.
With the game still goalless, Schilacci entered the fray with the words of his teammate, the reserve goalkeeper Stefano Tacconi, still ringing in his ears.
“Go and score a header,” he urged.
Sure enough, three minutes later, Schillaci was in the right place at the right place as he rose to bullet home a Vialli cross and give the hosts a narrow 1-0 win.
By Italy’s final group game, Schillaci was now Italy’s first choice striker, such was his staggering vein of form.
And he certainly repaid coach Vicini’s faith in him.
He scored the opener against Czechoslovakia and repeated the feat in the last 16 against Uruguay.
He also broke Ireland’s heart with the only goal of the game in the quarterfinals in Rome.
And then gave Italy the lead against Argentina in the semi-finals.
From being one of the most unrecognisable faces in the Italy squad, the name of Toto Schillaci was now known across the world.
Italy’s run came to an end in the semifinals against Argentina when they lost to the South Americans on penalties.
Schillaci was, of course, crestfallen.
“It was as if a large building had toppled on me,” he recalled in 2014.
“I spent more than two hours in the changing room smoking - and I cried as well.”
Schillaci had five goals going into the third and fourth place play-off against Bobby Robson’s England.
With the game poised at 1-1 with just four minutes to play, Italy were awarded a penalty.
Ordinarily, it would have been Roberto Baggio’s job to take it.
But he handed the ball over to Schillaci, knowing that if his teammate scored he would beat Czechoslovakia’s Tomas Skuhravy to the Golden Boot award.
Schillaci stepped up, sent Peter Shilton the wrong way and wrote his name in history.
The Golden Boot wasn’t the only gong he picked up at Italia '90.
Schillaci also won the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player, ahead of West Germany’s Lothar Mathaus and Argentinian superstar Diego Maradona.
It had been a phenomenal rise to superstardom.
Schillaci only scored one more goal for Italy after the 1990 World Cup Finals, in an away game against Norway in a Euro '92 qualifying match.
He ended his international career with seven goals in 16 caps, six of which came in just seven games during that heady month in his homeland.
Today, "Toto" Schillaci runs a football academy in his native Palermo.
He also had a brief spell in politics as a local councillor in Sicily.
His hair has remarkably reappeared too, despite the fact he was clearly balding when he hit the heights at Italia ’90.
It's just one of the many miracles Toto has performed in his life.
