Remembering Gianluca Vialli and reflecting on his Chelsea impact

In 87 appearances in all competitions with CFC, Vialli netted 40 goals for the club and served as the team’s manager for one year before stepping back to assume the gaffer position full-time for another year before he was sacked after winning only one of the first five league contests. As a striker, he had the whole package, especially when he moved to northeast Europe. Through his strength, technical ability, and dynamism up top, Vialli was the perfect striker, and someone Graham Potter’s group could really use right about now.

His pressing style away from the ball would give the opposition fits, and combined with his vision, Vialli knew what kind of runs to make to get in behind the defense. From his clutch performance in the 1997 FA Cup fourth round against Liverpool to his historic display as both a player and a coach during the Blues’ route to UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup glory during the 1997-98 campaign.

In February, Gullit was sacked, and the club gave him the reins from the quarterfinals on in both the League Cup and the Cup Winners’ Cup. Vialli would finish the job in both competitions, putting himself in the lineup on one of those occasions, defeating Middlesbrough in extra time, and Stuttgart through a Gianfranco Zola strike in the 71’. Just a few months after the victory over Stuttgart, Vialli would lead the Blues from the sideline in the UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid.