Thousands of people came to the funeral of Italy’s 1990 World Cup hero Salvatore Toto Schillaci.
Schillaci died on Wednesday at the age of 59 after a battle with colon cancer. The Italian striker was the top scorer at the 1990 World Cup, when his country was the host.
He became a symbol of a player who exceeded expectations on the biggest football stage, AP reported.
The ceremony was held in the main cathedral in Palermo. Schillaci has never played for a Sicilian team, but he was born and raised in this city, where he founded a football youth academy after he retired.
His coffin was decorated with the jerseys of Italy and Palermo, as well as the scarves of the various teams he played for – “Messina”, “Juventus” and “Inter”.
He finished his career in the Japanese team “Jubilo Iwata”, and retired in 1999.
Schillaci had never scored a goal for Italy before the 1990 World Cup, having previously played only once for the national team.
In total, he played 16 games for Italy and scored seven goals – six of them at the World Cup, where the Azzurri finished third.
