“Now he is unrecognizable, he lives on the streets” a desperate appeal launched for the former champion

An awareness campaign has been launched to help Totò Schillaci’s cousin, currently hospitalized: he is in a state of serious malnutrition

Maurizio Schillaciformer Lazio striker and cousin of the famous Totò, is today a ghost, invisible and unhappy. Destined for a brilliant career in the world of football, at 62, Schillaci lives on the streets of his Palermo, where the difficulties of daily life are added to growing health problems. A bitter fate for someone who, in the 80s, was considered by some to be more talented than Totò Schillaci himself, hero of the Magical Nights of Italy ’90.

Maurizio’s conditions are serious. A few weeks ago he lost sensitivity in his upper limbs and underwent various tests at the Civic Hospital of Palermo. Severely malnourished and without a roof, he tries to survive on the streets of the city, in a drama that seems to have no end.

Until a few months ago, Schillaci had found refuge in a room at a symbolic price, but even this humble accommodation was denied him. Before he lived in his Fiat Panda, now under the stars. In the meantime, Giusy Hota volunteer and friend of Schillaci, together with others, is mobilizing to help him, launching an appeal on social media to gather support. Thanks to these people, it was possible to have Maurizio visited and take his faithful dog Ciccio to a boarding house, where he is hosted and cared for.

The road to recovery is uncertain and full of obstacles. Maurizio’s decline began many years ago, when a promising football career was cut short by physical problems and inadequate medical management.

Maurizio made his debut at a very young age wearing the Palermo shirt, his hometown, and found his peak in Licata Zdenek Zeman in Serie C, until he earned a call from Lazio in 1986. What was supposed to be the definitive turning point, however, turned into a trap. Schillaci took to the field only 11 times with the Biancocelesti, scoring one goal, before moving to Messina. Physical problems, including a lesion to the scaphoid in his right foot, irremediably marked his career.

“They considered me a hypochondriac,” he said, “but the truth is that I had a serious injury and nobody believed me.”

The descent from football Olympus was rapid. He moved to Juve Stabia and then back to Licata, but his performances collapsed, to the point of ending his career at just 31 years old. From there he began to slide into the abyss: economic difficulties, loneliness and drugs brought him to the margins of society. Abandoned by everyone, even his two daughters and his cousin Totò, currently hospitalized, Maurizio found himself living on the streets.

Today, his life is even harder, marked by health problems and the constant struggle to survive. His words are bitter and full of suffering:

“As long as you play, everyone loves you. But when you stop, you find yourself alone.”

The appeal of the volunteers who assist him is the last hope for a man who has lost everything, but who perhaps, with the right support, could still find a path to dignity.