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(Reuters) – Italians affectionately knew him as “Pablito.” In Brazil, he was known as the executioner.
Paolo Rossi, the former Italy striker who died on Thursday at the age of 64, is seen in his homeland as the hero who led a previously discredited team to its 1982 World Cup title.
Brazilians almost remember him too, for inflicting a defeat that became known as the Sarria Tragedy and that many feel changed the country’s soccer forever.
Rossi was the main protagonist of one of the best World Cup matches ever played: Italy’s 3-2 victory over Brazil in a second-round match at the Sarria Stadium.
Brazil had delighted the world, playing with seemingly careless abandon as they won their first four matches with a 13-3 goal total. Many consider the team, trained by Tele Santana, as the best the country has produced.
Italy had dragged themselves through the first group stage with draws against Peru, Poland and Cameroon before a surprising 2-1 victory over Argentina.
Rossi, frail-looking and seemingly out of shape, had just returned from a two-year suspension related to a match-fixing scandal and had a dismal performance up to that point.
It was an epic match and clearly belonged to a very different era, from the classic strips, to the blasting of horns, the sweltering heat and the dilapidated Sarria stadium in Barcelona.
There was much criticism about the use of the long-demolished Sarria for the World Cup, but its rapidly rising stands, packed with fans waving flags, added to the drama.
Brazil needed a draw to reach the semifinals of the second group stage, but fell behind after five minutes as a woeful defense allowed Rossi a free header from an Antonio Cabrini cross.
The South Americans tied seven minutes later with a goal that, according to BBC commentator John Motson, “sums up the philosophy of Brazilian football.”
Socrates passed the ball to Zico, who slipped between two defenders with a back heel and then sent a pass back to Socrates.
The “Doctor” advanced in his inimitably natural style and scored with a shot between Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff and the near post, the ball kicking up a cloud of dust as he crossed the line to produce another evocative image.
That should have prepared Brazil for a comfortable victory but, after 25 minutes, Toninho Cerezo’s side pass was intercepted by Rossi, who ran to shoot Italy back in front.
Falcao tied for Brazil after the break, but once again Rossi scored, this time hitting the ball at point-blank range after going unmarked in a corner.
EUROPEAN INFLUENCE
Many Brazilians have argued that the defeat caused a profound and permanent shift in their game, towards a more defensive style of soccer with European influence.
Certainly, during the 1990s Brazilian national soccer became incredibly aggressive, with up to 50 or 60 fouls per game.
“If we had won that game, soccer would have been different. Instead, we started to create soccer based on getting the result at any cost, soccer based on breaking the opponent’s play, on fouls,” Zico once said.
Others have argued that Brazil was simply naive, deploying four creative midfielders, a winger and a forward, a style that would not have survived in any case.
In a joint interview with Zico two years ago, Rossi recalled how, on his first visit to Brazil in 1989, he was ordered to get out of a taxi when the driver recognized him. But that was an exception.
“Actually, I have many Brazilian friends and there is a lot of affection, a lot of respect,” he said. “They don’t see me simply as the player who once scored three goals against Brazil, there is more to it than that.”
“What makes me proud is that we beat not just Brazil, but that Brazil … the 1982 team, an extraordinary team of incredible champions.”
(Written by Brian Homewood; Edited by Toby Davis)
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