Paolo Rossi 1982 World Champion, what are his teammates doing?

On the day of the tragic death of Paolo Rossi, the whole of the mythical parade of Spain ’82 does not skimp on memories and greetings to the player who was the top scorer of that edition of the World Cup with 6 very forceful goals in the last three games of the tournament. Coach Enzo Bearzot’s squad is the one that first connects to Pablito in the common cultural and sports ideal: he, first, was the bomber of the Italian team, then the rest. But what path did the other members of the squad of that World Cup take? Many have remained in the world of football as coaches, managers or television commentators, but others have followed different passions: writers, politicians, runners, rally drivers, shopkeepers. There was no lack of imagination.

In goal

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One of the symbols of success in Spain was Dino Zoff, the most mature world champion in history with his 40 years and 134 days of the 3-1 match against Germany. The Friuli goalkeeper is one of those who decided to remain linked to the sport that made him famous, becoming a coach above all. Italy, Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina on his résumé on the bench, with an Italian Cup and a UEFA Cup won as Juventus coach – he has been retired for 15 years. And their substitutes? Number 12 Ivano Bordon was goalkeeping coach (Udinese, Juventus and Inter) until the 2006 World Cup, which he won as a member of Marcello Lippi’s squad. Retired to private life, he published his autobiography at the beginning of the year. Giovanni Galli was only 24 years old during the 1982 expedition and had yet to make his debut in blue. After retiring, he embarked on a managerial career for a few years – he was also an observer for Real Madrid – and a television commentator, but at the same time he plunged into politics. In 2009 he ran for mayor of Florence, but was defeated by Matteo Renzi, while in this year’s elections he was elected a member of the Tuscany regional council.

The rear

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It goes without saying a word about the tragic fate of Gaetano Scirea, his story is indelible in the memory of all of Italy. Franco Baresi became honorary vice president of Milan just over a month ago, after more than 12 years of association between marketing and the role of brand ambassador: to remember in his past also the strange 81 days as the sporting director of the Fulham in 2002. “Uncle” Beppe Bergomi is a famous television commentator, but has never given up his passion as youth coach in amateur teams after his past experiences at Inter, Monza, Atalanta and Como. Antonio Cabrini was then coach for a few ten years before coaching the women’s national team for five years. Off the field he participated in a reality show, was a commentator, wrote a crime novel and was an ambassador for the Milan Expo 2015. Fellow neighborhood Fulvio Collovati is now a regular presence on television, at first as a director and second as a commentator, while in football he was the ds of Piacenza and co-owner and (for a few months in 2015) CEO of Pro Patria. Moving on to Claudio Gentile, the Libyan-born was a FIGC coach for several years in late 2000, with a double result in 2004 of third place at the European Under-21 Championships and an Olympic bronze in Athens. However, his relationship with the Azzurro was abruptly broken that year: “They killed me – he said in a recent interview with Il Giornale – but I will never be a puppet.” His adventure as coach of the Swiss Sion, which lasted only a few days, never really began. Finally Pietro Vierchowod, who was mainly technical between Italy, Hungary and Albania, with a short experience as a television commentator and a negative candidacy for mayor of Como in 2012.

Midfielders

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Giancarlo Antognoni’s heart has never managed to stray from Florence, which is why in the last thirty years he has held various roles with Viola: his flagship is the commitment of Rui Costa, the lowest point of relegation in Serie B as interim manager, while today he is the coach of the Fiorentina club. In the midst of ten years with federal positions, from chief observer of the national youth teams to head of the U21 delegation. Management path also for Lele Oriali, full of successes: from the two promotions with Bologna to the treble with Inter , where he is He returned for a year and a half as technical director of the first team. Despite this, he also remained director of the national team, a position he has held since 2014: for him also two isolated experiences as a television commentator, which is now the usual role of Marco Tardelli. The protagonist of the famous scream landed on television after having stopped training on a 25-year journey: on the bench he won the 2000 European Under-21 Championship, but they also remember the not excellent year in charge of Inter, the role of Egypt technical commissioner and Giovanni Trapattoni’s deputy assignment with Ireland. Bruno Conti never left Rome, first as a youth coach and then as head of the competitive sector, until a brief experience as coach of the interim first team in 2005. Then he became head of the technical area of ​​Giallorossi, today he is an ambassador for the club. Giuseppe Dossena’s post-retirement story is truly kaleidoscopic: 1987 political candidate, wandering coach since 1998 (Ghana and Albania coach, plus experiences in Saudi Arabia, Paraguay, Libya and Ethiopia), the former from Turin is also He was a coach in Lazio, Roma, Sampdoria and Benevento, until then dedicating himself to television for the last 15 years. Franco Causio, for his part, settled in Udine, where he was manager of Udinese: in addition to his experiences as a television commentator, he also opened a sports store in the capital of Friuli. The lock can only be for Gianpiero Marini, who was active on two fronts. As a coach, he especially remembers the strange 1994 season in charge of Inter, when his team won the UEFA Cup but risked a historic decline: away from football he became a financial broker, a passion that was already developing as a player. .

The advices

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The attack wasn’t just from Paolo Rossi, of course. Like so many former champions of 1982, Ciccio Graziani was divided between his career as a coach (on the cusp of the Uefa Cup final with Fiorentina) and television, with the unforgettable bond of the talent show “Campeones, el dream “Between 2004 and 2006. A double life also for Alessandro Altobelli, who began as a sports director for Padua and an observer for Inter, passed from the national beach soccer team (as a player) and two top scorer titles at the 1995 World Cups and 1996. to the small screen, with a hiatus in politics as a Brescia councilor. For Daniele Massaro, on the other hand, there is the role of AC Milan brand ambassador and an unfortunate candidacy for councilor in Milan, but his passion for rallying is in the news, which even led him to compete in the WRC World Cup at the end. of the nineties. Finally, Franco Selvaggi’s coaching career is more classical, but it was limited to a few Serie C clubs in the Center-South at the end of the last century: then he was a teacher at the FIGC coaching school and a sports commentator at television, as well as Cagliari’s chief observer.