One of the most successful strikers in the history of Italian football and a member of the Italian Football Hall of Fame since 2015 in the “Italian Player” category, Gianluca Vialli was born in Cremona on 9 July 1964. Since November 2019 he has been the Head of Delegation for the National team.

Raised in the Cremonese area, he made his Serie A debut at the age of twenty playing for Sampdoria. In a partnership with Roberto Mancini, he led Sampdoria to three Coppa Italia triumphs, a Cup Winners' Cup, a Scudetto, and a historic European Cup final lost against Barcelona. With his move to Juventus, the trophies in his collection increased: a UEFA Cup, a Scudetto, a Coppa Italia, but most importantly, a Champions League won as the Juventus captain. At thirty-two, he flew to England to end his career at Chelsea. With the Blues came more success, some in the role of player-coach: An FA Cup, a League Cup, a Cup Winners' Cup and a European Super Cup.

After losing a European Championship with the Under 21 team on penalties, he made his debut with the senior national team in a friendly match with Poland, also earning a call up for the World Cup in Mexico in 1986. He became a starter along with Azeglio Vicini, with whom he shared the disappointments of the defeat in the semi-finals, both at the 1988 European Championship and two years later at the World Cup on home soil. Vialli played his fifty-ninth and final match with the Azzurri on December 19 1992 in Malta, where he also scored his sixteenth and final goal for the national team.