2020 hasn’t been the best of years for many reasons. It even eclipsed the two World Wars in terms of the sheer extent of impact. We saw the world lose many icons across the board. Italian World Cup hero Paolo Rossi was the latest to breathe his last before the turn of 2021. The football world lost yet another gem within two weeks of losing Argentine legend Diego Maradona. One of the greatest forwards to ever play the game, Rossi put his name on the wall with other greats who played the game in 1982. He went from a lonely duckling, taking the pitch after a two-year hiatus due to betting allegations, to a majestic swan with a touch of grace. The saviour of the Azzurri who were engulfed by clandestine bets and match-fixing.
Rossi and Maradona were both World Cup heroes, known for memorable performances in the ’82 and ’86 World Cups respectively. Both their careers have had its share of controversies. But while Maradona’s career and fame took a dip post the 1990 World Cup, Rossi became an Italian icon after the betting scandal that he was involved in. While Maradona ended his illustrious career on a low, Rossi rose from the ashes of scandals to cement his name as one of the greatest footballers to have ever played the game. ‘Pablito’, as he was affectionately called, became the emblematic protagonist of Italian football.
Rossi made his professional debut in 1973 for Juventus, but it was mired by injuries making only three Coppa Italia appearances between 1973-75 without finding the net even once. He was then sent on loan to Como for a year where he managed to score only six goals. His career took a turn for the better in ’76 when he started playing for Vicenza Calcio (then Lanerossi Vicenza). Coach Fabbri played him as a centre forward (Rossi played as a right winger until then), and it was an immediate success. He top scored in Serie B division scoring 21 goals, winning the Golden Boot and led the team to promotion to Serie A. He top scored yet again the following year with 24 goals, becoming the first player to win the Golden Boot in Serie A and Serie B in consecutive years. He was called to play for the national side in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, where he scored three goals and gave four assists as Italy finished fourth.
He became the most expensive player and sportsman ever to that date when Lanerossi payed 2.6 billion lire (approx $2 million then) in 1976. But despite scoring 15 goals for Vicenza in ’79. The club was relegated to Serie B and he was loaned to Perugia. It was his time at Perugia that saw him take the center in the infamous 1980 betting scandal known as Totonero. Rossi was banned for three years in which he missed out on the 1980 European Championship.
Rossi was called to the Italian national side in 1982 after his three-year ban was reduced to two. He joined the squad just two months before the start of the World Cup. His first game was a disaster as he was labelled as a ‘ghost aimlessly wandering over the field’ by the media.
Italy became the first team to advance from the first round (until then there were two Round Robin stages) without winning a single game, drawing all three of their fixtures. Italy advanced to the second round which also featured reigning champions Argentina featuring Maradona and favourites Brazil featuring Zico, Socrates and Falcao. Rossi scored a memorable hat-trick against Brazil (3-2) to take Italy to the semi-finals. Italy beat Poland 2-0 with Rossi scoring both goals to reach the finals where they faced West Germany. The final was scoreless at the end of the first half. In the 57th minute, Rossi’s header gave Italy the lead. They went on to beat West Germany 3-1 to lift the World Cup for the third time. Rossi was adjudged player of the tournament, winning the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball. That same year he also won the Ballon d’Or.
Following the news of his death, tributes poured in from around the world. Rossi is the second World Cup hero to die within two weeks after Maradona passed away last month from a heart attack.
Rossi ended his professional career scoring 103 goals from 251 games for clubs and 20 goals from 48 games for the Italian national side. The man who broke Brazilian hearts in 1982, was included in the Top 125 greatest living footballers by Pele in 2004 as part of FIFA’s 100th anniversary celebrations.