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Pablito’s funeral began in the Cathedral of Vicenza. Paolo Rossi had explicitly requested it. The coffin of the champion who died last Wednesday will be carried on the shoulders of the former teammates of the national team. In the first row they recognize Antonio Cabrini, Marco Tardelli, GAntognoni side by side me Fulvio Collovati. Outside the choirs of the people chanting ‘Paolo, Paolo …’. The president of FIGC, Gabriele gravina, placed a blue shirt of the Italian national team with the number 20 on the coffin of Paolo Rossi, in front of the altar of the Cathedral of Vicenza where the funeral has just begun.
The heroes of the World Cup are sitting next to each other; It is impressive to see them reunited in this circumstance: gray-haired, sad, with masks.
“Cunning as a snake in the field but in all his life as simple as a dove, so was Paul,” says the priest who is celebrating the funeral in his homily. “You will go to the Coverciano in the sky,” he adds. The homily ends with a quote from Renato Zero: «Bless the actors, musicians, fantasists and the circus people, all those people who always smile. We also include you on this list, Paolo. Thank you for making so many people dream, for teaching us to live. Thank you, Lord, for giving it to us.».
“I lost not only a friend, but a brother. How many emotions we have shared. They turned our lives upside down. We are part of a group, of that group ». Antonio Cabrini Moved, he greeted Paolo Rossi, his former teammate in the National Team and Juventus, during the funeral. “I thought we would walk together for a long time yet. I already miss you, I miss your jokes, your words of consolation, our fights and your smile – he continued – It is those like you that embellish friendship. I will not let you go. You will always be within me, I promise to be close to Federica and your children, but you remain close to me ».
«Paolo’s death shocked me because I didn’t know about his illness and therefore it was a bolt from nowhere. He represented Italian football, he has no equal ». Paolo Maldini This is how Paolo Rossi remembers, before the funeral begins in the Cathedral of Vicenza. “Paolo Rossi was just him and I was lucky to play with Milan, he at the end of his career and I was very young,” added Maldini.
“Paolo was the greatest of all, as well as the strongest striker of all time.” With these words Alessandro altobelli, outside Vicenza Cathedral, before the funeral began, recalled Paolo Rossi. “He was a symbol of that group not only on the field but also outside and even once he left football,” added the former champion. “We were both attackers, but he was much stronger than me. I always tried to copy what he did, but his qualities were natural and it was impossible to imitate him. He was always in the right place at the right time, he always came first. For those who want to play football, I recommend seeing who Paolo Rossi was, his great professionalism.
“I still can’t believe it. Until a month and a half ago I listened to him often in the chat, then he started not responding and I realized that something was wrong. He left with dignity, he wanted to be the Paolo Rossi I have always seen, always smiling. We went to the World Cup like the Brancaleone army, Paolo arrived after two years of inactivity. Everyone made fun of him, his redemption and his revenge coincided with our revenge. If I am a world champion I owe it to him. ” words of someone who is moved Fulvio Collovati, blue hero of the 1982 World Cup. “When the message came from his wife Federica asking us not to forget it, it broke my heart,” continues the former Inter and Nacional defender. He was a friend, a brother. A sunny boy, of a captivating simplicity. I immediately assured Federica, how can we forget Paolo? ”
The vigil of the Vincentians
The people of Vicenza have lined up in their hundreds, thousands, since last night to wait their turn, in the cold until dark, to greet the light walnut coffin with the body of the World Cup champion at the mythical Menti stadium. of 82.
Today he is a citizen in mourning in Vicenza and in Prato, which was the birthplace of Paolo Rossi. By early afternoon yesterday there were already more than 1,500 people, in line that had reached a kilometer in length, to access the Menti lawn, where the funeral home was installed.
Paolo Rossi, his wife: “I notified my teammates of his death in the chat of the 1982 champions”
“He came to Vicenza almost as a stranger – said Antonio, an older fan – to the point that the national sports newspapers had included him among the reserves. But it didn’t take him long to earn his place on the team and become a protagonist. “He looked like a high school student, he was so young – he recalled Mr. Giovanni, who saw him having breakfast in the bar downstairs in the 70s – and even then he was always smiling and happy.” The coffin was placed at the exit of the changing rooms, under the central gallery. It was immediately flooded with flowers and red and white T-shirts with the number 9. In the morning, however, numerous white banners with the words ‘Rossi Gol’ appeared in the city, a reminder of an old slogan that appeared in Menti in the 1976 season -1977, in Serie B, when the repeated goals of the then unknown Paolo Rossi led the Venetian team to Serie A.
Posters that have been hung in windows, on balconies, on trees. Among the many who came to Vicenza for the last farewell, Marco Tardelli, who spent a lot of time in front of the coffin with Federica Cappelletti, Rossi’s wife, and their two daughters, and Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli. “For me he is a friend, a sincere friend: I can’t find the words, I haven’t accepted him yet,” said the former Italian coach. Who later, commenting on the line of people outside the stadium, added: «It is the testimony of how Paolo lived his profession, and people come to greet Paolo, not the player. He has known as few in the world to recover from always difficult moments remembering the values of friendship. He was never a character, he became one because in football he did what he did. As a person he has always been of great humanity and sensitivity.
In Vicenza they are already thinking of dedicating the avenue that leads to the stadium to him. Before the inauguration of the funeral home, Rossi’s first wife had also arrived, Simonetta rizzato, with his son Alessandro.
The Lega Serie A and all the clubs will remember and pay tribute to Paolo Rossi through a series of initiatives on the occasion of the next round of the championship. The players will go out onto the pitch with mourning in their arms and before the kick-off of each match, a minute of meditation will be observed, at the end of which a historical audio will be transmitted that will recall the exploits of the former striker in the 1982 World Cup.
The necessary scare / The fire inside Pablito and the determination that we now lack
Last updated: 11:08
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