Classic World Cup moment #5 – Tardelli v West Germany, 1982
By Ben Robins
Italy arrived at the 1982 World Cup in Spain on the back of a match-fixing scandal in Serie A which had hugely damaged the nation’s reputation.
One of the players prosecuted for illegal betting was Italy’s star striker, Paolo Rossi, who returned from a two-year suspension just in time to play in the tournament.
The Italians began badly and only just scraped through the first group stage, managing only draws against Poland, Cameroon and Peru.
The team was widely derided in the press for their performances and Rossi was singled out as the weak link in the side, with his lack of fitness and match sharpness horribly evident in the first three matches.
And things didn’t look too promising for the Azzurri when they came up against pre-tournament favourites Brazil and World Cup holders Argentina in the second group stage.
However, after narrowly defeating the Argentines in their first match, Paolo Rossi suddenly rediscovered his form and stunned Brazil with a hat trick to eliminate them from the tournament and put Italy into a semi-final with Poland. Two more Rossi goals were enough to see off the Poles and book a place in the final against West Germany.
In the final, Rossi continued his incredible scoring run with a goal in the 57th minute, but the second goal by Marco Tardelli 12 minutes later is the moment that remains etched in every Italian’s memory, and his celebration perfectly encapsulated the emotion of scoring in a World Cup final.
