Article body analysed
By Sam Brookes Published: 22: 03 AEST, 19 September 2024 | Updated: 22: 48 AEST, 19 September 2024 4 View comments The sad news broke on Wednesday morning that former Italy striker Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci had passed away at the age of 59 following a battle with colon cancer. Schillaci is most fondly remembered for his incredible goalscoring exploits at his home World Cup in 1990, when he netted six times in seven matches to win the Golden Boot. That tournament brings back such wonderful memories; Luciano Pavarotti's spine-tingling rendition of 'Nessun Dorma', Colombia's eccentric goalkeeper Rene Higuita thinking he could play in midfield before quickly finding out he couldn't - and even England were pretty good. All the while, Schillaci took centre stage. But what about the other standout players at Italia '90? Mail Sport has taken a look at the tournament's top 10 performers and what they are up to now. Salvatore Schilacci (pictured) - the Golden Boot winner at Italia '90 - passed away this week at the age of 59 Italia '90 was a memorable World Cup, with England making it all the way to the semi-finals Starting with a bang, we simply couldn't overlook Cameroon's Roger Milla. He arrived at the World Cup as a little-known 38-year-old, but left a household name. Milla became famous for his joyful dancing by the corner flag after each of his goals, and he scored four of them in Italy. Due to his advanced years, Milla started games on the bench, but kept coming on and delivering the goods as Cameroon made it all the way to the quarter-finals before losing to England. After retiring in 1996, Milla worked on the Montpellier coaching staff between 2001 and 2007, before managing Tonnerre in his homeland. He now works as an itinerant ambassador for African causes, and has volunteered for the World Wild Fund for Nature - previously known as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Roger Milla (pictured) became a household name at Italia '90, and celebrated his goals by dancing around the corner flag Milla got four goals, but Tomas Skuhravy went one better by netting five in as many matches. He played a pivotal role in Czechoslovakia's run to the quarter-finals before they were knocked out by eventual champions West Germany. Following his World Cup heroics, Skuhravy moved to Italy to play for Genoa, prior to joining Sporting and Viktoria Zizkov. But he had found his happy place and returned to Italy to manage Serie C side Cuneo in September 2018. Less than a year later, he left the club after they were kicked out of Italian football due to financial problems, but he has remained in Italy and is now a restaurant owner in Liguria, a region in Genoa. Tomas Skuhravy (right) scored five goals at Italia '90 to finish as the tournament's second-highest goalscorer Let's move to the first of our World Cup winners. Jurgen Klinsmann led the line for West Germany and netted three goals in seven outings at Italia '90. Klinsmann's standout moment in the final against Argentina came when he appeared to pull off a ridiculous dive, but managed to get Pedro Monzon sent off. Klinsmann denied simulation, but went on to celebrate scoring for Tottenham in the Premier League by recreating the dive. He has since moved into management, coaching three national teams - Germany, USA and South Korea - with the latter firing him earlier this year. Klinsmann has also managed Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin. In between coaching roles, Klinsmann has also tried his hand at punditry, working for a number of broadcasters including the BBC and ESPN. Jurgen Klinsmann is a World Cup winner but his managerial career has not gone to plan and he was sacked by South Korea earlier this year Robert Prosinecki burst onto the scene as a 21-year-old midfielder at the 1990 World Cup, and was rewarded for his performances by being named the Young Player of the Tournament. He scored in the group stage against the UAE and netted his penalty in Yugoslavia's shootout defeat by Argentina in the quarter-finals. That was just the start of his professional journey as he went on to play for Real Madrid and Barcelona, and even had a brief spell at Portsmouth in the early 2000s. Coaching was his calling after retirement, and he worked as an assistant for Croatia from 2006 to 2010, having played for the national team between 1994 and 2002 after switching allegiances. He has also managed Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is now in charge of Montenegro. Robert Prosinecki (pictured) is now the manager of Montenegro after starring for Yugoslavia at Italia '90 Arguably the greatest player of all time, Diego Maradona overcame an ankle injury to light up the world stage again in 1990. Four years on from almost single-handedly leading Argentina to World Cup glory, Maradona returned for more, and took his side all the way to the final. After knocking hosts Italy out in the semi-finals, Argentina's national anthem was loudly booed before the final against West Germany, with the camera panning in on a furious Maradona - who played his club football for Napoli at the time - cursing the crowd. Argentina came up short against West Germany, but Maradona will always be remembered as a World Cup icon. He also went into management after hanging up his boots, and coached Argentina at the 2010 World Cup, but they were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by a familiar foe, Germany. Maradona died at the age of 60 in November 2020 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Buenos Aires. Diego Maradona did not have the same impact as four years earlier, but still led Argentina to the final in 1990 It all ended in tears for Gazza, but what a tournament he had. For a few weeks in the summer of 1990, Paul Gascoigne had England fans dreaming of World Cup glory. Despite being just 23 years of age, Gascoigne looked at home on the biggest stage straight away and dragged England to the semi-finals. But he was booked in extra time against West Germany, and knew immediately that he would be suspended for the final if England made it. His lip began to quiver and the tears flowed, with Gary Lineker famously gesturing to manager Sir Bobby Robson to 'have a word with him'. England took the game to penalties but fell short, and both Gazza and the nation cried once more. Since his retirement, Gascoigne has battled with alcoholism, and revealed back in March that he was homeless. But he is now attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in a bid to stay sober, and began touring again earlier this summer to greet the fans that adored him so much during his England days, and especially at Italia '90. Paul Gascoigne (right) announced himself on the world stage with his performances at Italia '90 But it all ended in tears when England lost on penalties to West Germany in the semi-finals Lothar Matthaus played at no fewer than five World Cups, and got his crowning moment at his third. The midfield general scored four goals at Italia '90, and captained West Germany to glory as they beat Argentina 1-0 in the final. After playing at the highest level for over two decades, Matthaus couldn't keep away from football post-retirement and went into management. During a 10-year stint on the touchline, he coached Hungary and Bulgaria. He has since become an outspoken pundit. He has also lived a colourful life away from the pitch, having fathered four children and been divorced five times. His latest marriage to Russian model Anastasia Klimko ended in 2021. Lothar Matthaus (left) captained West Germany to World Cup glory in 1990 Matthaus has been divorced five times, with his latest marriage to Russian model Anastasia Klimko (left) ending in 2021 Italia '90 was an eventful tournament for Gary Lineker. He soiled himself on the pitch in England's opening game, but things did get significantly better after that for the striker. Lineker finished with four goals across seven matches, including a brace of penalties in the quarter-final against Cameroon and a fine strike with his weaker left foot in the semi-final clash with West Germany. He even managed to score from the spot in the penalty shootout, but Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle didn't, and England were sent packing. Lineker has since moved into presenting and become the BBC's presenter for Match of the Day and their go-to guy for major tournaments. He was the BBC's highest-paid presenter for 2023-24, earning £1, 350, 000-£1, 354, 999. Gary Lineker soiled himself on the pitch during England's opening game at Italia '90 Lineker has done well for himself since, and is now the BBC's highest-paid presenter The third and final World Cup winner on this list. Was it a penalty in the final? Andreas Brehme didn't care a jot. Rudi Voller did seem to go down easily, but Brehme didn't hesitate in stepping up and dispatching the spot-kick five minutes from time to seal victory for his side. That was his third goal of the tournament, an impressive feat for a left back. Brehme became a coach after retiring, managing Kaiserslautern and working as Giovanni Trapattoni's assistant at Stuttgart. He died at the age of 63 in February following a cardiac arrest, just one month after his mentor Franz Beckenbauer passed away. Andreas Brehme (pictured) scored the penalty that won West Germany the World Cup It is only fitting to finish with Schillaci. He had a tournament that most players can only dream about. Schillaci actually started the opening game on the bench but came on to score the winner against Austria and never looked back. Further goals came against Czechoslovakia, Uruguay, Republic of Ireland and Argentina, but Italy were heartbreakingly knocked out on penalties by the South American nation. They dusted themselves off to play England in the third-place play-off, and Schillaci netted the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for Italy to claim the Golden Boot. Schillaci notably played for Juventus and Inter Milan during his club career, and his former team-mate Roberto Baggio was one of the first people to pay tribute to him after his death was announced on Wednesday. Schillaci took the World Cup by storm after initially starting the tournament on the bench Schillaci had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2022 and was admitted to hospital with an irregular heartbeat earlier this month. He sadly passed away this week, but his impact at Italia '90 will live long in the memory of football fans all over the world. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group