Paolo Rossi's three goals in the match against Brazil: the legend begins on July 5

On July 5, 1982, Italy defeated Brazil 3-2 and went on to a historic World Cup victory. This legendary meeting, held at the Sarria Stadium in Barcelona, ​​has gone down in history as one of the greatest victories in sport, marking the birth of the myth of 'Pablito' and paving the way for the Italians to a third world championship title.

On that day, the Sarria Stadium became the scene of the greatest achievement of modern football: Italy-Brazil 3:2. The epic match completely defied expectations and predictions. The Brazilians, led by Tele Santana, considered invincible favorites, were defeated by the unexpected performance of Paolo Rossi and the ideal tactical organization of the national team under the leadership of Enzo Berzota. The victory eased the tension after weeks of brutal criticism from the Italian press and opened the door to a semi-final and then triumph in Madrid.

Until this day, Paolo Rossi did not look so confident; after a long disqualification, he did not score in the tournament. But with Sarria, the striker proved himself again, becoming a relentless goalscorer. 5th minute: first goal - Cabrini makes a perfect cross from the left flank; Rossi bursts into the second post and heads the ball into the net behind Valdir Perez. 25th minute: second goal - taking advantage of a mistake by the Brazilian defense, Rossi intercepts the ball, attacks centrally and hits the goal from outside the penalty area. 74th minute: third goal - after a corner the ball ends up in the center of the penalty area; Rossi is ready and sends the ball into the net from close range, recording the final score 3:2.


Do not forget that the Brazilians, among whom were such stars as Socrates, Zico and Falcao, first equalized the score in the 12th minute (1:1) thanks to Socrates, and then in the 68th minute (2:2) thanks to Falcao. In order to advance to the next round and eliminate the Italians, a draw would be enough for them. However, the Brazilians wanted victory... and were punished.

The match, full of drama, almost ended prematurely in the 89th minute. Giancarlo Antognonni scored a superb goal to potentially make it 4-2, capping off a perfect counter-attack with help from Oriali. However, Israeli referee Avraham Klein disallowed the goal due to a non-existent offside. Television footage clearly showed that the Fiorentina midfielder was in the correct position, left in the game by two Brazilian defenders. The mistake left Italy suffering in the tense final minutes, culminating with Dino Dzov's famous goal-line save from Oscar's header.

In total, Paolo Rossi scored 6 goals at the World Cup in Spain '82, becoming the tournament's top scorer and winning the Golden Ball. His achievements concentrated in the decisive stages of the tournament: Italy-Brazil 3:2 (second group stage): deciding three (5', 25', 74') to eliminate the favorites. Italy-Poland 2:0 (semi-final): a double (22', 73') that brought the Italians into the final. Italy-West Germany 3:1 (final): the first goal (56') opened the scoring for Italy's triumph.

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