1982 WORLD CUP MEGA STAR,PAOLO ROSSI DIES

 

1982 WORLD CUP MEGA STAR,PAOLO ROSSI DIES

BY ABDULMUMINI ADEKU,NOBEL LAUREATE

Paolo Rossi ,the star man of Espana 82 ,The World Cup Finals held in Spain in 1982 is dead..

Arguably ,the most respected sportsman  alongside Roberto Baggio to hail from Italy ,Paolo Rossi  first served the world  a notice of his immense talent when both Vicenza and Juventus settled to pay and receive as much as 2.612 billion Italian lira for his services  thus making him the world ‘s most expensive soccer star in the late 1970s.

However ,the hallmark of his career had to be the resilience he showed as he rose from the ashes of the infamous betting scandal: The Totonera gate to lay a famous and successful football siege on the globe in 1982 world cup in Spain.

He was indicted by a special sporting investigating team in an open trial and was punished for three years  though this was later reduced to two years at the time .

Rossi had always said that he was innocent and that he had been a victim of hate, prejudice and injustice as far as his trail at the time was concerned .

At the World Cup in 1982,Coach Enzo Bearzot stood by him and he repaid the faith of the latter by ghosting past defenders at wheel like a hot knife cutting through  butter as he led the Azurris to a famous World Cup Glory in history.

His was a most glorious career with a lot of landmarks recorded in the process in terms of achievements  by Rossi.

In 1987,aged 31 years of age ,Rossi retired after 400 league games and 154 goals,48 international caps with 20 goals to match for the Italian National team thus highlighting his contributions as a legend of the game globally.

Rossi’s wife in a social media post on instagram was full of praises for her departed husband even in death.

She speaks:”Federica Cappelletti while disclosing it on Instagram made a terse statement :Forever and then followed by Heart there will never be anyone like you ,unique ,special  and after you absolutely nothing “Capelletti also wrote  similar messages on Facebook.

RAI Television where Rossi was a pundit were devastated by the incident   and they were quick to pay the Football great tributes.

It Speaks:”Such terribly sad news,Paolo Rossi has left us “

“Unforgettable Pablito who made all of us fall in love in that summer of 1982 and who was a precious and competent colleague at RAI over the recent years”

“RIP Dear Paolo ‘

Rossi is survived by his wife  and three children .

German soccer legend:Jurgen Klinsmann said:Dear Pablito ,we remember you forever “

The Quarter Finals of the match between The Azurri’s of Italy  and the Selecao of Brazil during the 1982 World Cup which had the likes of Rossi alongside the likes of Dino Zoff,Claudio Gentile ,Marco Tardelli,Bruno Conti,Scirea,Antognioni ,Altobelli,Bergomi,Franco Baresi,Antonio Cabrini amongst others who squared up against the likes of Zico ,Socrates,Eder,Falcao,Juinor,Serginho and others is still considered by several analysts as one of the greatest football games ever played by humans at any level..

Till date ,players of both sides apart from being considered as greats of football  are permanently etched in football ‘s folklores. Globally .

Paolo Rossi was a menacing Forward at both the 1978/1982 World Cups  where he was either the main man or one of the star attractions .

Though registered for the 1986 World Cup held in Mexico injuries were not kind to him and therefore could not make hay as expected by fans both in Italy and globally.

It’s coming two weeks after the death of another soccer great,Diego Armando Franco Maradona of Argentina..