Ciao, Pablito.. Italy’s hero of World Cup ’ 82
IT was the game that made Sir Bobby Charlton weep – and brought the curtain down on Brazil’s rhapsody of freestyle football.
Paolo Rossi’s hat- trick against Brazil at the 1982 World Cup turned him into the assassin who shot down a dream team.
In the commentary box, England legend Charlton was among the misty- eyed witnesses who acclaimed Italy’s 3- 2 win as the greatest match he had ever seen.
That Brazil team of Zico, Eder, Socrates and Falcao were not just footballers, they were poets in boots – and it took the Golden Boot of Rossi to take them down.
The Juventus striker’s six goals at the tournament included ncluded another in the e final against West Germany, and he described his performances as “personal redemption” from a match- fixing scandal – although he had always protested his innocence.
Rossi, who has died at the age of 64 after a long illness, will not just be remembered as a World Cup hero in his homeland. He will remain a part of Italian culture like Da Vinci, Ferrari and the Sistine Chapel.
The prelude to Rossi’s finest hour had been the ‘ Totonero’ scandal in 1980, for which he was handed a three- year ban.
But when the sanction was reduced to two years on appeal, it gave him the chance to restore his reputation at a World Cup where he would upstage Zico’s Brazil, Diego Maradona’s Argentina,
Karl- Heinz Rummenigge’s West Germany and Ron Greenwood’s England.
Goalless in Italy’s first three group matches, the light that had flickered suddenly burst into flame in that pulsating 3- 2 win in the second group phase to knock out Brazil.
Rossi ( below, scoring against Brazil) added two more in the semi- finals against Poland before skipper Dino Zoff, then aged 40, lifted the trophy ( as did Rossi, above).
The Italy team’s official Twitter account led a nation’s outpouring of grief, saying: “A true Azzuri legend has left us. Ciao, Pablito, and thank you for everything.”
Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina said: “The disappearance of Pablito is a wound to the h heart of all fans, fan difficult to h heal. He took an entire country by the hand, w which re rejoiced in the stre streets, for him and wi with him.” Rossi himself had mixed feelings about the 1982 World Cup.
In a documentary two years ago, he said: “On one hand I felt fulfilled. I said to myself, ‘ You’ve made it’. On the other hand, I was disappointed that all of this just ended. The World Cup was over.
“But when you win something important it’s not just about the trophy. It’s about the group you win it with, it’s about your entire career that took you there. It’s about your personal redemption.”
Sir Bobby said: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. It was one of the best matches – even the best match – that I’ve ever seen.”