Paolo Rossi, a hero of Italian soccer who fired the Azzurri to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, has died aged 64, prompting an outpouring of grief and tributes.
Rossi’s wife, Federica Cappelletti, announced the death with a post on Instagram, alongside a photograph of the couple accompanied by “Forever,” and followed by a heart.
“There will never be anyone like you, unique, special, after you the absolute nothing,” Cappelletti also wrote on Facebook.
Photo: AP
The cause of his death was not revealed, but Italian media reported that Rossi had been suffering from “an incurable disease.”
Tributes were paid to “Pablito,” the star who was banned for three years for his part in a betting scandal, but returned to win the World Cup in Spain and the Ballon d’Or the same year.
Despite breaking in the early hours, Italian media splashed with the news, while social media lit up with tributes and “Paolo Rossi” was Italy’s No. 1 trending search item.
“Football and Italy Mourns Paolo Rossi,” headlined the Gazzetta dello Sport, as La Stampa called him the “Hero of Spain ’82.”
The news of his passing comes two weeks after the death of Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona, winner of the 1986 World Cup.
Rossi won the hearts of Italian fans during the summer of 1982, when his goals dragged Enzo Bearzot’s Azzurri to a third world title.
Italy started the tournament with three uninspiring draws before they came to life and marched to the world title.
Italy’s sports icon almost missed out on the tournament when he was caught up in a bribery scandal and banned for three years in 1980.
However, after continually protesting his innocence, he was cleared to play after two years.
A slight and sprightly winger who converted to center-forward, Rossi had an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time.
He exploded onto the stage of the 1982 tournament with a hat-trick in the 3-2 defeat of Brazil.
In the semi-finals, he scored both goals as Italy beat Poland 2-0, and he hit the opener in the 3-1 win over West Germany in the final.
Rossi finished top scorer in the tournament with six goals.
He was also a member of the Italy side that finished fourth in Argentina in 1978.
Along with Christian Vieri and Roberto Baggio, he holds the Italian record of nine World Cup goals.
He scored 20 goals in 48 appearances for Italy and was voted European Footballer of the Year in 1982.
Born in Prato in Tuscany, Rossi made his professional debut at Juventus in 1973, but his initial two-year spell at the Turin club was blighted by knee injuries.
His first club successes were with Vicenza, where he was the top scorer in Serie B with 21 goals in the 1976-1977 season, and helped the club into the top flight.
The following season, Vicenza challenged Juventus for the league title and Rossi finished the season as top Serie A scorer with 24 goals.
He spent another season with Vicenza, but following relegation, he left for a loan spell at Perugia, becoming embroiled in the 1980 match-fixing scandal known in Italy as Totonero.
As a result, Rossi missed out on the 1980 European Championship, in which Italy finished fourth on home soil.
After his suspension, Rossi returned to Juventus, and the 1983-1984 season was his most successful at the club level.
He formed a formidable partnership with Michel Platini and Zbigniew Boniek, and accumulated trophies — two Serie A, the Coppa Italia, Cup of Cups and European Supercup.
In 1985, Juventus won the European Cup amid the tragedy of the Heysel Stadium final, where 39 fans were killed, which was to be Rossi’s last match with the Bianconeri.
He went to rivals AC Milan for an unsuccessful season, which was overshadowed by injury, as was his final season at Hellas Verona.
In 1987, aged 31, Rossi decided to turn the page after nearly 400 league games and 154 goals, and 48 caps and 20 goals for Italy.
After his career as a soccer player, Rossi worked as a TV pundit.
“Such terribly sad news: Paolo Rossi has left us,” RAI Sport presenter Enrico Varriale said.
“Unforgettable Pablito, who made all of us fall in love in that summer of 1982 and who was a precious and competent work colleague in RAI over recent years,” Varriale said. “RIP, dear Paolo.”
Rossi is survived by his wife and three children.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
RSS