Former Italian striker was Brazil's tormentor in the 82 World Cup
Forever associated with the history of the Brazilian national team for having scored the three goals that eliminated Brazil from the 82 World Cup, former Italian striker Paolo Rossi died this Wednesday, aged 64.
According to the newspaper “Gazzetta dello Sport”, the Azzurri idol was victim of lung cancer discovered recently.
Rossi died exactly two weeks after another icon of world football in the 80s, Argentine Diego Maradona, champion and main name of the Mexico Cup, in 1986.
The former Juventus player was champion and top scorer at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, with six goals.
Until the second phase, he had not yet scored any goals, but he broke his spell in Italy's 3-2 victory over the team led by Telê Santana, who made history with stars such as Zico, Falcão, Júnior and Sócrates.
Titles at Juventus and scandal before the 82 World Cup
Paolo Rossi was born in the city of Prato, in Florence. He started playing at Juventus, where he experienced the best moments of his career. With the Turin club, he won the Italian Championship twice (1981/82 and 1983/84), the European Cup (currently the UEFA Champions League) in 1984/85, the UEFA Super Cup in 1984, the extinct European Recopa, in 1983/84, and the Italian Cup, in 1982/83. He was also champion of the Italian Serie B in 1976/77 with Vicenza.
In 1978, he played for the Italian team in his first World Cup, in Argentina, scoring three goals in the campaign that ended with fourth place – Italy lost to Brazil 2-1 in the dispute for third place. Already recognized as one of the country's main players, Paolo Rossi was suspended for three years in 1980, while playing for Perugia, accused of involvement in a match-fixing scandal known as “Totonero”. His sentence was later reduced to two years, which allowed him to be called up for the Spanish Cup.
Rossi only played for Italian clubs, with stints also at Como, Vicenza, Milan and Hellas Verona, where he ended his career in 1987. In 2002, the former striker released a book about his career on the pitch, with undeniable emphasis on the remarkable game against the Brazilian team in 1982, possibly the most important of his career: “I made Brazil cry” (I made Brazil cry, in Portuguese). Rossi also worked as a commentator on Italian TV stations such as RAI and Mediaset. (put GE)
