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06 Sept 2025

Italian soccer star enjoys Kilkenny brewed beer

Do you remember this Smithwicks ad from 2002?

Italian soccer star enjoys Kilkenny brewed beer

Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci, the breakthrough star of Italy’s home World Cup in 1990, died late last year aged 59. But, did you know the striker had a fondness for a beer famously brewed in Kilkenny?

Schillaci’s domestic form for Juve in the 1989-90 season earned him a place in Italy’s squad for the 1990 finals, even though he started the tournament with just one cap to his name.

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However, he finished as the tournament’s top goalscorer with six, as the hosts made it through to the semi-final before losing on penalties to Argentina.

Fast-forward to 2002 and the Italian forward starred in an ad for Smithwicks, a beer brewed in Kilkenny City for over 300 years until the brewery's local closure in 2013.

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