Thousands turn up at funeral of Italian World Cup hero Salvatore “Totò” Schillaci

PALERMO, Sicily (AP) — Thousands of people turned up for the funeral of Italian World Cup hero Salvatore “Totò” Schillaci on Friday.

Schillaci died on Wednesday at the age of 59 following a battle with colon cancer. The Italy striker was top scorer at the 1990 World Cup that his country hosted and epitomized a player exceeding expectations on soccer’s biggest stage.

The funeral took place at the main cathedral in Palermo. Schillaci never played for the Sicilian team but he was born and raised in the city, where he also set up a soccer youth academy after moving back when he retired.

Schillaci’s coffin was decorated with an Italy jersey and a Palermo one, as well as with scarves of the various teams he played for — Messina, Juventus and Inter Milan. He ended his career at Japanese team Jubilo Iwata, retiring in 1999.

Schillaci had never scored for Italy before the 1990 World Cup, having previously only played once for the national team. Overall, he made 16 appearances for Italy and scored seven goals — six of them at the World Cup, where the Azzurri finished third.

He also won the Golden Ball award in 1990 as the tournament’s top player ahead of Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona.

There was space for around a thousand people in the cathedral and thousands more packed the square outside. They chanted Schillaci’s name and applauded when the hearse arrived and again when the coffin was brought back out after the funeral service.

Thousands had also passed through the public viewing of Schillaci at Palermo’s Renzo Barbera stadium in the days ahead of the funeral.

Schillaci’s two brothers were among the pallbearers, along with nephew Francesco Di Mariano, who plays for Palermo and passed through his uncle’s soccer academy.

Many former teammates were in attendance, including Giuseppe Bergomi, who played with Schillaci for Inter and Italy and was also Azzurri captain at the 1990 World Cup. Among the other figures from the world of soccer were Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina and Antonio Matarrese, who occupied the post in 1990.

There was a collection at the service, with the funds going towards the renovation of an area that includes two soccer pitches, one of which will be named after Schillaci.

A wreath of flowers from world soccer’s governing body FIFA was laid at the entrance to the cathedral. It bore the words “to the hero of Italia 90.”

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Pallbearers carry the coffin of Italian World Cup hero Salvatore Toto' Schillaci, during his funeral ceremony at the Palermo cathedral, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Alberto Lo Bianco/LaPresse via AP)

The coffin of Italian World Cup hero Salvatore Toto' Schillaci during his funeral ceremony at the Palermo cathedral, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Alberto Lo Bianco/LaPresse via AP)

The coffin of Italian World Cup hero Salvatore Toto' Schillaci, during his funeral ceremony at the Palermo cathedral, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Alberto Lo Bianco/LaPresse via AP)

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Italian World Cup hero Salvatore Toto' Schillaci, during his funeral ceremony at the Palermo cathedral, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Alberto Lo Bianco/LaPresse via AP)

Mourners gather next to the coffin of Italian World Cup hero Salvatore Toto' Schillaci, during his funeral ceremony at the Palermo cathedral, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Alberto Lo Bianco/LaPresse via AP)

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Italian World Cup hero Salvatore Toto' Schillaci, during his funeral ceremony at the Palermo cathedral, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Alberto Lo Bianco/LaPresse via AP)

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Italian World Cup hero Salvatore Toto' Schillaci, during his funeral ceremony at the Palermo cathedral, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Alberto Lo Bianco/LaPresse via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is quieter on Friday, and U.S. stocks are drifting after they leaped to records the day before during a worldwide rally.

The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in early trading but still on track for its fifth winning week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 66 points, or 0.2%, after it likewise set an all-time high the day before. The Nasdaq composite was virtually flat, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time.

FedEx dragged on the market with a drop of 14% after its profit and revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. It said U.S. customers sent fewer packages through priority services, while it had to contend with higher wages for workers and other costs. FedEx also cut its forecast for revenue growth for its fiscal year.

Helping to offset that was Nike, which ran 7.5% higher after it named Elliott Hill as its chief executive. Hill, 60, had spent more than three decades at Nike in various leadership positions before retiring in 2020. He replaces the retiring John Donahoe.

Shares in Trump Media and Technology Group slumped another 6% as its biggest shareholder, former President Donald Trump, won the freedom to sell his shares if he wants.

Trump owns more than half of the $3 billion company behind the Truth Social platform. But Trump and other insiders in the company had been unable to cash in because a “lock-up agreement” prevented them from selling any of their shares. Trump has said he’s in no rush to sell.

TMTG’s drop on Friday was in line with its volatile history. Over the last six months, it’s often swung by at least 5% in a day, up or down.

Homebuilder Lennar fell 4.2% after delivering a mixed earnings report. Its profit for the latest quarter topped expectations. But it also said it made less in profit on each $100 of home sales, and it expects that margin to stay flat in the current quarter.

Conditions may be set to improve for homebuilders, though. The Federal Reserve earlier this week cut its main interest for the first time in more than four years, a move that could make mortgages more affordable for home buyers.

The momentous move closed the door on a run where the Fed kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high in hopes of slowing the U.S. economy enough to stamp out high inflation. Now that inflation has fallen from its peak two summers ago, Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed can focus more on keeping the job market solid and the economy out of a recession.

The Fed is still under pressure because the job market and hiring have begun to slow under the weight of higher interest rates. Some critics say the central bank waited too long to cut rates and may have damaged the economy.

Critics also say the U.S. stock market may be running too hot on hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to pull off what seemed nearly impossible a couple years ago: getting inflation down to 2% without creating a recession.

Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel, is still calling for a sharp drop for the S&P 500 by the end of the year. He points to how much faster stock prices have climbed than profits at companies. When stocks have looked this expensive on such measures in the past, he said a recession and sharp downturn for stocks has followed.

He also warned in a report that slowing hiring “is now symbolic of recession risk.”

No economic releases are on the calendar for Friday to show where the economy may be heading. Next week will have preliminary reports on U.S. business activity, the final revision for how quickly the economy grew during the summer and the latest update on spending by U.S. consumers.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.75% from 3.72% late Thursday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe after rising in Asia. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.5% after the Bank of Japan left interest rates steady, as was expected.

In China, the central bank left key lending rates unchanged on Friday. Indexes rose by 1.4% in Hong Kong and less than 0.1% in Shanghai.

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AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

A bus passes the Wall St. subway station on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Trader Michale Conlon, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's news conference appears on a television screen behind him, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index and Japanese Yen exchange rate at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People ride bicycles in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)