The streets of Terrasini on Sicily’s north coast were silent that sticky June evening 34 years ago. And then, suddenly, the seaside town erupted with the volcanic force of nearby Mount Etna.
Italy’s 2-0 win over Czechoslovakia in Rome was worthy of a celebration rumble; that local hero, Toto Schillaci, had scored again, was the lava that flowed from the summit.
Locals streamed out onto the streets, cars honked, flags waved, and traffic lights stayed on permanent amber as Sicily’s tifosi hailed their diminutive Caesar.
There was a sense of being part of something special. It was a privilege to be there.
Little did we know that before the month was out, Schillaci would puncture the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup dream.
Schillaci was the wide-eyed Sicilian assassin who became a cult hero of the nation whose hearts he had shattered.
It was a signal honour, one that has never been bestowed on Wim Kieft or Antoine Griezmann, the match-winners against Ireland at Euro ’88 and Euro 2016.
Schillaci’s death yesterday, at just 59, sparked immense sadness across football, not least by the Irish players he repelled in Rome.
‘So sad to hear the passing of Italy’s Toto Schillaci, what a player and goal scorer. RIP’, posted Paul McGrath on Instagram.
While he carried a far shaggier thatch later in life than in his playing days, the eyes always had it with Toto.
They bulged when he scored. In those finals, in which he didn’t expect to play a minute, he scored six goals and won the Golden Boot.
‘The eyes. The eyes. Every time I meet people they want me to do the “wild eyes”. It was an instinctive gesture that has stuck in people’s minds. I have done it many, many times,’ he said in an interview.
From Sicily, Ireland sailed for Genoa and then on to Rome where Schillaci was waiting.
His winner against Jack Charlton’s team in the quarter-final was an execution he described as ‘very difficult’ as he adjusted his body to pounce on a rebound after Packie Bonner parried a rocket from Roberto Donadoni.
The angle was tight but somehow, he deftly steered the ball with his right foot into the far corner. It was a poacher’s goal, a case of being in the right place at the right time, which he was so often in those finals.
Schillchi, who praised Ireland for being ‘a strong, solid team’ was never held up as a villain of the piece. Rather, he was respected and then, year on year revered. Smithwicks signed him up for a TV ad before the 2002 World Cup; Boylesports followed suit some years later.
‘To be loved here is very special,’ he said on an Irish visit. And he was indeed loved in this country. The FAI paid its respects yesterday on X.
‘Our condolences to the family and friends of Salvatore ‘Toto’ Schillaci following his passing. He will always be a part of Irish football folklore. Rest in peace.’
Perhaps it was his story, straight of out of Boys Own, that appealed most.
Salvatore Schillaci was the little guy from a poor background in Palermo who grafted in the lower reaches of club football, before seizing his chance in the ring and delivering punch after punch in that World Cup.
He was The Cinderella Man of his time.
In tandem with the classy Roberto Baggio, their story became the bromance of the finals.
Against Austria in the opening game, Schillachi was thrown on late by Azeglio Vicini. He had one cap for Italy before the finals and no one expected him to figure in the squad, let alone play.
Carpe diem. Schillaci delivered the winner, with a spring-heeled leap between two giant defenders and a firm header as he met the late Gianluca Vialli’s cross.
From there, he became the ‘go-to-guy’ for Vicini.
He scored another header against the Czechs, then a left-foot bolter from distance against Uruguay.
His slide-ruled finish against Ireland followed before a scruffy finish off a rebound to fire Italy in front in the semi-finals against Argentina.
It finished 1-1 and in the penalty shoot-out, he opted out, which was curious as he completed 120 minutes. ‘I had sore adductors. I couldn’t walk or kick,’ he explained.
Deep down, I wonder did he regret taking a back seat as Italy, going first, saw their final two penalties, from Donadoni and Aldo Serena, saved?
There was one last hurrah for Schillaci.
In the final moments against England in the third-place playoff, he tumbled to the turf in the box. ‘Nowadays it was never a penalty,’ he recalled.
Baggio was the designated taker, but he selflessly gave the ball to Schillaci with the words, ‘Take it so you win the Golden Boot.’
The right-foot finish beyond Peter Shilton was textbook as Schillaci scored for a fifth successive game in the finals, for six goals in all.
His was a flame that flashed across the football landscape like a meteor and then vanished. He only scored once more for Italy and his last cap was a year later.
The summer of 1990 was Schillaci’s time. Ciao, Toto.