Paolo Rossi
Encyclopedia
Paolo Rossi is an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 former football striker. In 1982, he led Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

 to the 1982 FIFA World Cup
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...

 title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot/top scorer honors, and the Golden Ball. After his performance at the 1982 FIFA World Cup he became a hero in the hearts of all Italians. Rossi is one of only two players to have won all three honours at a single tournament (the other is the Argentinian Mario Kempes
Mario Kempes
Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi is a retired Argentine footballer. His father, Mario, also a footballer, inspired him to play from a young age. At the age of 7, he began playing with a junior team and at 14, he joined La Cuarta de Talleres...

, in 1978). Javier Saviola
Javier Saviola
Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for S.L. Benfica in Portugal, as a striker....

, Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...

, Sergio Agüero
Sergio Agüero
Sergio Leonel "Kun" Agüero del Castillo is an Argentine footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester City in England's Premier League and the Argentine national team....

 and Dominic Adiyiah
Dominic Adiyiah
Dominic Adiyiah is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who plays as a striker for Karşıyaka and the Ghana national team.-Early career:...

 accomplished this in junior teams, in the 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cups respectively. He is listed among Pelé's 125 all-time greatest footballers.

Early years

Rossi was born at Santa Lucia, in the province of Prato
Province of Prato
The Province of Prato is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Prato. It was formed from part of the province of Florence in 1992.The province has an area of 365 km², and a total population of 227,886...

 (Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

).

He made his debut in professional Italian football with Como, to which Juventus had sent him to gain experience after three operations on his knees, as a right wing, where his small build would not be a hindrance.

His career came to a turning point when Vicenza
Vicenza Calcio
Vicenza Calcio is an Italian football club based in Vicenza, Veneto. The club was formed in 1902 and currently plays in Italy's Serie B, having spent the entire 1960s and a large part of the 1990s in Serie A...

 (then Lanerossi Vicenza) engaged him. Coach Fabbri decided to place him in the center of the attack (because of injuries to the then center-forward) just before the season started. Rossi immediately showed a tremendous knack for getting open in the box and scoring, winning the Serie B Golden Boot in his first year at the position. In the 1976
1976 in sports
1976 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden** Women's overall season champion: Rosi Mittermaier, West Germany-American football:...

'77
1977 in sports
1977 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden** Women's overall season champion: Lise-Marie Morerod, Switzerland-American football:...

 season, Rossi's qualities as an implacable striker led his team to promotion to Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

. In the following season, Rossi scored 24 goals, to become the first player to top the scoring charts in Serie B and Serie A in consecutive seasons. He was selected by the Italian national football team's manager Enzo Bearzot
Enzo Bearzot
Vincenzo "Enzo" Bearzot was an Italian association football player and manager. He is best known for having led the Italian national football team to a triumph in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.-Playing career:...

 for the 1978 FIFA World Cup
1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina between 1 June and 25 June. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth...

.

Rossi confirmed his growth in the tournament, gaining international fame as one of world's best strikers.
Playing for Italy, he would switch positions with the two other strikers a fraction of the time, going to his original right wing position, where he shone as a passer, too. Right wing Causio, a two-footed player, would go left, and tall left wing Bettega would go to the center. This simple stratagem, made possible by the technical quality of all three players, created havoc on opposing defenses, and 1978 Italy showed an entertaining offensive style of play. Rossi totaled three goals and four assists in that WC edition.

Rossi up to this point had been jointly owned by Vicenza and Juventus. When the two clubs were called to settle the property, Lanerossi offered the shocking sum of 2.612 million lire for Rossi, who became Italy's most costly sportsman ever to that date. In 1979 Vicenza was relegated to Serie B, and Rossi was loaned to Perugia.

Scandal

While at Perugia he was involved in the infamous 1980 betting scandal known in Italy as Totonero
Totonero 1980
Totonero 1980 or Totonero was a scandal of match fixing in Italy in 1980 in Italian Serie A and Serie B. It was uncovered on 23 March 1980 by the Guardia di Finanza, after the spalling of two Roman shopkeepers, Alvaro Trinca and Massimo Cruciani, who declared that some Italian football players sold...

, and as a result of this Rossi was disqualified for three years though this was later reduced to a two year ban. However, Rossi always claimed to be innocent and be victim of an injustice. In his book Ho fatto piangere il Brasile (I Made Brazil Cry) one of the people that accused him in 1980 admitted that the accusations against him at that time were invented.

1982 World Cup

Rossi returned just in time for 1982 FIFA World Cup
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...

, but Italian journalists and tifosi
Tifosi
Tifosi is an Italian word to describe a group of supporters or fans, especially in sports. Tifosi is used for a mixed gender or an all-male group; masculine singular tifoso, feminine singular tifosa, feminine plural tifose.-Football:...

 lamented he was in very poor shape. This view seemed to be confirmed by Italy's first, appalling three matches, in which he was allegedly described as a ghost aimlessly wandering over the field.

Bearzot, however, staunchly confirmed Rossi for the decisive round robin, in which his team was to face Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

, the reigning World Champions, and Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

, the biggest favourites to win the title with a team consisting of world-class players such as Sócrates
Sócrates
Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, MD, , more commonly known simply as Sócrates, is a Brazilian former association footballer....

, Zico
Zico
Arthur Antunes Coimbra , better known as Zico , is a Brazilian coach and former footballer. He is the current head coach of the Iraq national football team. Often called the "White Pelé", he is commonly considered one of the most skilled finishers and one of the best passers ever and possibly the...

, and Falcão
Paulo Roberto Falcão
Paulo Roberto Falcão is a Brazilian head coach and former footballer, currently managing Sport Club Internacional. He is widely considered one of the best players in Internacional and Roma history, and one of the most talented midfielders of all time, especially at his peak in the mid 1980s...

. After Italy defeated Argentina 2–1 on the defensive work of Gentile and Scirea, who shut down Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...

, Rossi scored three memorable goals
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...

 to shock Brazil 3–2 to qualify for the semi finals against Poland, where his two goals again won the match for Italy. In the final against Germany, Rossi scored the first of Italy's three goals on a free-kick assist from Gentile to win the match 3–1, giving his team their third World Cup. With six goals total, he won the tournament's maximo goleador award—the Golden Boot--as well.

Italian fans hung banners proclaiming him "Man of the match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...

". Rossi's accomplishments in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 gained him the title of European Footballer of the Year
Ballon d'Or 1982
The 1982 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Paolo Rossi on 28 December 1982....

 and World Player of the Year
World Soccer Magazine
World Soccer is an English language football magazine published by IPC Media. It specialises in the international football scene. Its regular contributing writers include Brian Glanville, Sid Lowe and Tim Vickery. World Soccer is a member of the European Sports Magazines , an umbrella group of...

 in 1982
1982 in sports
1982 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup:** Men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, United States** Women's overall season champion: Erika Hess, Switzerland-American football:...

.

Later years

After 1982 Rossi played with Juventus, winning two Scudetto titles, the Italian Cup (1983), UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...

 (1984), UEFA Super Cup (1984) and the European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 (1985). After his stint with Juventus, he moved on to a then struggling AC Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...

. In Milan he was remembered for his two-goal performance against Internazionale F.C. in a derby. Rossi was also selected to the 1986 World Cup roster for Italy but did not play. He ended his career at Hellas Verona in 1987. He is currently involved in real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

, together with his former teammate Giancarlo Salvi.

Rossi scored a total of 20 goals in 48 caps for Italy. Undoubtedly, his most important goal was the winner against Brazil in the 1982 World Cup which completed a famous hat trick and enabled the Azzurri to advance at the expense of the South Americans. Rossi further represented Italy in the 1991
I World Cup of Masters
I World Cup of Masters was the fourth edition of the World Cup of Masters. For the first time, it was held outside Brazil. It was held in Miami, and all of the matches were played at the Joe Robbie Stadium. The six "Master" teams were reigning champions Brazil, Italy, Uruguay, Argentina and for...

 edition of the World Cup of Masters
World Cup of Masters
The World Cup of Masters, also known as the Pelé World Cup and Mundialito de Seniors was an event that ran every two years from 1987 until 1995. The tournament was for senior players. In 1990 the term "seniors" was replaced by "masters". The editions until 1991 were organized by Brazilian TV...

, scoring in the third place play off against Uruguay.

Rossi was named by Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...

 as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...

 in March 2004. Though he lacked the intimidating presence of a typical out-and-out striker, he more than made up for this with his keen sense of opportunism and sharp finishing skills.

In August 1990, he was named vice-president of Lega Pro Prima Divisione club A.S. Pescina Valle del Giovenco
A.S. Pescina Valle del Giovenco
A.S. Pescina Valle del Giovenco, commonly referred to as simply Valle del Giovenco, was an Italian association football club based in Pescina, Abruzzo, that was founded in 2005...

.

Career statistics

|-
|1975–76||Como||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

||6||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1976–77||rowspan="3"|Lanerossi Vicenza
Vicenza Calcio
Vicenza Calcio is an Italian football club based in Vicenza, Veneto. The club was formed in 1902 and currently plays in Italy's Serie B, having spent the entire 1960s and a large part of the 1990s in Serie A...

||Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...

||36||21||||||||||||||||
|-
|1977–78||rowspan="10"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

||30||24||||||||||||||||
|-
|1978–79||28||15||||||||||||||||
|-
|1979–80||rowspan="2"|Perugia
Perugia Calcio
Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio is an Italian association football club based in Perugia, Umbria, direct heir of the old Perugia Calcio and A.C. Perugia, excluded from Italian football because of financial troubles....

||28||13||||||||||||||||
|-
|1980–81||0||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1981–82||rowspan="4"|Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...

||3||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1982–83||23||7||||||||||9||6||||
|-
|1983–84||30||13||||||||||9||2||||
|-
|1984–85||27||3||||||||||10||5||||
|-
|1985–86||Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...

||20||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|1986–87||Hellas Verona
Hellas Verona F.C.
Hellas Verona Football Club is a professional Italian association football team, based in Verona, Veneto. The team's colours are yellow and blue and gialloblu is the team's most widely used nickname...

||20||4||||||||||||||||
251||103||||||||||||||||
251||103||||||||||||||||
|-
|1977||1||0
|-
|1978||10||4
|-
|1979||5||3
|-
|1980||3||0
|-
|1981||0||0
|-
|1982||11||6
|-
|1983||7||2
|-
|1984||6||3
|-
|1985||3||2
|-
|1986||2||0
|-
!Total||48||20
|}

Club Honours

  • Juventus
    • Serie A
      Serie A 1981-82
      The 1981/1982 Serie A season was won by Juventus F.C..-Final classification:Juventus FC became the first, and as of 2011, the only team in Italian football to be awarded two golden stars, to commemorate their 20th title win.-Results:...

      Champion 1982
      Serie A 1981-82
      The 1981/1982 Serie A season was won by Juventus F.C..-Final classification:Juventus FC became the first, and as of 2011, the only team in Italian football to be awarded two golden stars, to commemorate their 20th title win.-Results:...

      , 1984
      Serie A 1983-84
      The 1983/1984 Serie A season was won by Juventus F.C. It was a tight championship, won only on the last day of the season.-Final classification:-Results:-References and sources:...

    • Coppa Italia
      Coppa Italia
      The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...

      Winner 1983
    • European Cup Winner 1985
    • European Cup Winners' Cup Winner 1984
    • UEFA Super Cup
      1984 UEFA Super Cup
      The 1984 UEFA Super Cup was an association football match between Juventus of Italy and Liverpool of England. At the time, the UEFA Super Cup was generally a two-legged fixture, but only the first leg was played, due to fixture congestion. Juventus won the match 2–0...

      Winner 1984
      1984 UEFA Super Cup
      The 1984 UEFA Super Cup was an association football match between Juventus of Italy and Liverpool of England. At the time, the UEFA Super Cup was generally a two-legged fixture, but only the first leg was played, due to fixture congestion. Juventus won the match 2–0...


International Honours

  • Italy
    • FIFA World Cup
      FIFA World Cup
      The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

       Champion & Top Scorer 1982
      1982 FIFA World Cup
      The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...


Individual Honours

  • Ballon D'or 1982
  • World Cup Golden Boot 1982
  • World Cup Golden Ball 1982
  • Champions League
    UEFA Champions League
    The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

     Top Scorer 1983
  • Serie A
    Serie A
    Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

     Top Scorer 1977–1978
  • FIFA 100
    FIFA 100
    The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...


External links


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