Saturday

December 21st , 2024

FOLLOW US
pc

Raymond Mensah

3 months ago

FORMER LAZIO FOOTBALLER AND ITALY WORLD CUP HERO'S COUSIN IS NOW HOMELESS

featured img
Sports

3 months ago



A former footballer who played for Palermo and Lazio during the 1980s is now homeless in Sicily.

Maurizio Schillaci also represented Rimini, Licata, Messina and Juventus Stabia during a career that was punctuated by injury issues.

The latter years of his career coincided with his struggles with drug addiction, including cocaine and heroin.

Now, at the age of 62, he is back in his home city of Palermo, but without a home as he and his dog Ciccio are living on the streets.

A group of concerned volunteers have launched a campaign to help the ex-midfielder and his canine companion.

One of the volunteers, Giusy Caldo, recently appealed for more help in a Facebook post.

Caldo wrote: 'As you know, we are helping Maurizio Schillaci, the homeless man with the dog in Piazza Verdi (Massimo Theater).

'He is undergoing a health program, tests, etc and we are helping him with the management of his dog.

'Maurizio is in a state of significant malnutrition. He is tired of eating purchased foods (sandwiches, baked pasta, etc). He told me that he misses the flavours of home and not those of delicatessens.

'So I ask you... Can we organise shifts and cook a little each, bringing home-made cooked food? If you want to help us, write to me.'

Other locals have volunteered to take care of Schillaci's dog when he needs to attend hospital appointments.

Schillaci is the cousin of former Italy striker Salvatore Schillaci, who scored six goals at the 1990 World Cup.

The 59-year-old was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2022 and he was again admitted to hospital earlier this month.



Odegaard not ruled out by Mikel Arteta for North London derby


Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has refused to rule Martin Odegaard out for Sunday's North London derby, while Micky van de Ven is expected to return for Tottenham.

Arteta's comments come as a surprise after Odegaard suffered an ankle injury for Norway during the international break, which the team doctor said would likely take three weeks to heal.

Arteta, who is already without Declan Rice (suspension) and Mikel Merino (injury), insists Odegaard could still be available for the trip Spurs.

He said: "We need some more tests. Let's see what happens in the next day or so. [It will be Friday] afternoon probably. Let's see the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back. Martin wants to be here every day but we have to wait and see.

"I leave that to the doctor. He's willing and he wants to be present in every game. We need to make sure we know first how good he is or not.

"Players with 48 hours are always available. Let's see what happens."

Gabriel Jesus has missed Arsenal's last two games with a groin injury, but is expected to return if he comes through the training sessions before Sunday's game.

New-signing Riccardo Calafiori, meanwhile, will be assessed over the weekend before a decision is taken on his availability.

Spurs are set to have Van de Ven and Dominic Solanke fit for Sunday's visit of Arsenal after they missed the defeat at Newcastle before the international break.

A late call will be made on Yves Bissouma after he sustained an issue while away with Mali on international duty.

"Micky's good, he's trained all the way through the international break and it was good for him to stay with us to build him back up so he's ready to go," Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou told the official club website.

"Dom's improved as well and trained the back half of this week. We still have two days to go with those guys so hopefully they get through training OK and are available."

On Bissouma, Postecoglou said: "He's got a bit of an issue, but we'll have a look at him over the next couple of days and see how it settles."

Total Comments: 0

Meet the Author


PC
Raymond Mensah

Blogger

follow me

INTERSTING TOPICS


Connect and interact with amazing Authors in our twitter community