Gianluca Vialli, former Italy striker who played for Chelsea and Juventus, died at the age of 58. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer for the second time in 2021.
The Italian football federation confirmed Vialli’s death on Friday.
Vialli announced in 2018 that he had overcome a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer but then said in December 2021 that the disease had returned. He announced mid-December that he was temporarily stepping down from his role as the delegation chief for Italy’s national team.
Vialli had been appointed delegation chief under Azzurri head coach Roberto Mancini, his longtime friend and former teammate.
Who is Gianluca Vialli’s wife Cathryn White-Cooper?
Gianluca Vialli married Cathryn White-Cooper in 2003. The couple met during the football player’s time at Chelsea. The two tied the knot three years after he left Chelsea.
White-Cooper is of South African origin. However, she is British. She is believed to be a former model and also an interior designer.
The couple has two daughters – Olivia and Sofia.
White-Cooper was always supportive of her husband. Vialli, speaking to The Times, about his cancer diagnosis opened up on the support from his wife.
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“My daughters helped me drawing my eyebrows and I have I asked my wife for advice what tricks to use. We laughed, you have to laugh, you need to find the funny side, but there were days where I locked myself in the bathroom so they wouldn’t see me cry,” he told The Times.
Not much is known publicly about the couple’s children.
Vialli’s death comes three weeks after the premature passing of another Serie A great, Siniša Mihajlović, who died after a long battle with leukaemia. Mihajlović also played with Mancini at Sampdoria after Vialli left the club for Juventus.
