Gianluca Vialli was born in Cremona on 9 July 1964. After a glittering career as a player, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame back in 2015.

After coming through the youth ranks at Cremonese, he then made his Serie A debut with Sampdoria. It was here where he teamed up with Roberto Mancini, with the pair guiding the Blucerchiati to three Coppa Italia trophies, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, one Scudetto and a historic European Cup Final against Barcelona.

After joining Juventus, he only improved upon his honours’ list – winning one UEFA Cup, one Scudetto, one Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League. Aged 32, he soon set off for England where he concluded his career at Chelsea. During his time with the Blues, some of which was spent as player-manager, he won one FA Cup, one League Cup, one European Cup Winners’ Cup and the UEFA Supercup.

As for his experience with the Azzurri, he was unable to replicate his domestic success on the international stage. He made his senior debut during a friendly against Poland after losing on penalties during the Under-21 European Championship, while then also being called up for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He became a starter under Azeglio Vicini, tasting defeat at the semi-final stage during both the 1988 Euros and at Italia 90’ two years later.  He made his final Italy appearance on 19 December 1992 in Malta, where he added to his eventual tally of 16 goals for the Azzurri.