These are hours of concern for the condition of Totò Schillaci, who has been hospitalized. The former footballer of Juventus, Inter, and the National team was transported to the Civico hospital in Palermo and is under observation. Schillaci, 59, was initially in another hospital in the Sicilian capital but was recently transferred to the Civico hospital, and developments on his condition are awaited. The situation is causing concern throughout the football world and beyond.
How is Totò Schillaci? The latest updates
Salvatore has a rectal tumor (a part of the colon) that initially was localized and then became metastatic. Additionally, he has contracted a severe pneumonia and is currently on high-flow oxygen therapy. His condition is quite concerning.
The family’s message
Meanwhile, Schillaci’s family has provided an update on the former footballer’s condition via an Instagram story: ‘Given the numerous calls from many news outlets and the bad news circulating, we inform you that our beloved Totò is in stable condition and is being continuously monitored by a team of doctors, day and night. Stay strong, Totò.’
Totò Schillaci, hero of Italy ’90
Schillaci, 59, has also shared his battle with illness, the therapies, the fear at the time of diagnosis, and the suffering that marked him. An illness he had defeated and that has now reappeared. His career started at Messina, then moved to Juventus, Inter, and Jubilo Iwata (Japan), scoring more than 200 goals, and a sports life culminating in the 1990 World Cup where he was the top scorer with 6 goals, becoming the face of the Azzurri’s magical nights, leading Vicini’s National team to dream of the World Cup but finishing third. His career, which ended in Japan, began on the asphalt of the Cep neighborhood, one of the most popular and challenging areas of the capital. A modest family, three brothers and a sister, his father, who was a bricklayer, was always his biggest fan and accompanied him everywhere to make sure he could play. He worked as a tire fitter, a pastry shop assistant, and a street vendor until he was recruited by Messina. Schillaci was at the La Maddalena oncology clinic when, on January 16, 2023, the boss Messina Denaro was arrested. ‘It was 8:15 in the morning,’ he recounted, ‘I was waiting for my check-up because I am treated there by doctors Mezzatesta and Mandalà. I had just finished breakfast at the bar, and suddenly I found myself surrounded by hooded people with guns drawn. I thought it was an attack. Then the carabinieri identified themselves, but for a moment, I and those around me were scared, there was confusion.’ ‘A person like Messina Denaro walking freely around the city and going to the clinic like any other citizen makes me think. I have my own theory, but it’s good if a problem that had been dragging on for thirty years has been resolved,’ he commented. The former striker also managed for years a sports center for young people. ‘I love Palermo, and it bothers me a lot to see it associated only with crime because it offers many beautiful things. We need to invest in neighborhoods, yes, to take young people off the streets. I took over the Louis Ribolla sports center in a popular area to give back something of what the city gave me,’ he said. In 2004, he participated in ‘Isola dei Famosi,’ and a year ago, he participated with his wife Barbara in the program Pechino Express. Shortly before, he had undergone two tumor surgeries. ‘The show,’ he recounted, ‘was a revenge against the illness that caused me so much suffering.’ Now the new deterioration.
