Madrid, 1982: The Rossi Revival
The aftermath of the 1978 World Cup would see major changes in the German side, which quickly picked itself up with a number of new players and under a new coach, Jupp Derwall. The 1980 European Championships had been hosted in Italy, but with the hosts failing to reach the final it was West Germany that emerged triumphant in Rome.
The newly-crowned European Champions had won all eight of their qualifying matches en route to the 1982 World Cup in Spain, and were one of the big favourites going into the tournament; Italy on the other hand had found itself embroiled in yet another bribery scandal that threatened to destabilise the entire team and their World Cup campaign: when the tournament began, nobody gave them much of a hope.
The doubts about Enzo Bearzot’s side would increase during the opening phase as they almost stumbled through to the second phase with three draws against Poland, Peru and minnows Cameroon, but it was Derwall’s team that raised the most eyebrows. The Nationalmannschaft had been unbeaten in competitive internationals since the defeat against Austria in 1978, but this run would come to an end in their opening game against their own group minnows, Algeria.
The 2-1 defeat at the hands of Les Fennecs sent shockwaves through the football world, but even this would pale into insignificance when they met the Austrians yet again in their final match. Having dispatched Chile 4-1 in their second game the Nationalmannschaft needed to beat their neighbours to ensure their place in the second phase, and an emphatic revenge for the Schande of 1978 looked on the cards as they started energetically and took an early one-goal lead in the tenth minute.
The German supporters in the crowd were clearly looking forward to spanking the team that had the temerity to beat them four years earlier in Córdoba, but were left dumbfounded as both sides proceeded to walk the ball around for the remaining eighty minutes. The German television and radio commentators were stunned into long bouts of silence, incapable of relaying what was happening on the pitch – and the sense of shame that more than eclipsed 1978. The final result meant that the Germans progressed in first place, taking the Austrians with them at the expense of the Algerians.
As both West Germany and Italy made their way into the second phase, the whiff of shame and scandal blew heavily around both of them. It was here however where things changed. While the Mannschaft secured a berth in the semi-finals having drawn 0-0 with England and defeated hosts Spain – thus ramping up their status as tournament party-poopers and pantomime villians – the Italians stormed into the last four with wins over reigning champions Argentina and favourites Brazil, the latter a stunning 3-2 victory with Paolo Rossi scoring a memorable hat-trick.
Rossi had been one of those players deeply embroiled in the pre-tournament scandal that had soiled the Italian game, but when he scored two more against Poland to take his side into the World Cup Final all of this was quickly forgotten. The Germans would be on the opposite path, however: they had become the team everybody loved to hate. If their on-field collusion against Austria and eliminating the hosts was not enough, they would then reach the final with a penalty shootout victory of a much-fancied French side having come back from 3-1 down in extra-time.
In this just looking at the result this was just one more in the long catalogue of improbably spectacular German comebacks, but for those who were there the match had been defined by one incident: the foul by Harald Schumacher on Patrick Battiston, which to many observers was little more than a physical assault. The semi-conscious Battiston was stretchered off – short of a number of his front teeth – while Schumacher didn’t even see a yellow card and went on to become of the the shootout heroes. Even the most hardcore German supporter found their fervour tempered with a cringe.
The final therefore saw a match-up in Madrid between a team that had pulled itself out of the shadows of scandal against one that had sunk knee-deep into it in less than a month. One could never rule out yet one more winning German performance, but by simply plotting the relative paths of both sides during the course of the tournament the result would have a certain inevitability about it.
In what was a fairly flat first half there were a couple of noteworthy incidents. With less than ten minutes on the clock, Italian striker Francesco Graziani was stretchered off after finishing on the end of a string shoulder-charge from midfield workhorse Wolfgang Dremmler, and after twenty-five minutes Hans-Peter Briegel brought down Bruno Conti in the box to concede a penalty.
Antonio Cabrini’s spot-kick was rolled to the left of Schumacher and wide of the post, ensuring that both sides went into the half-time break with the score at 0-0.
The match turned dramatically twelve minutes into the second half. Just as things appeared to be descending into a boring midfield scrap with both sides unable to break the stalemate, Italy won two free-kicks in succession – the second of which would lead to the opening goal. While the Germans were still looking at the referee, Marco Tardelli set up Conti, who sent in the perfect cross for that man Rossi to head home.
From that point on there was no way back for the Mannschaft, as two more Italian goals arrived in separate twelve minute bursts. On sixty-nine minutes a neatly-worked Italian move saw Gaetano Scirea and Rossi work brilliantly to set up Tardelli, who swept the ball past the wrong-footed Schumacher from the edge of the box. An emotional Tardelli embarked on what was to become one of the most memorable celebrations in the history of the World Cup, and the Germans’ dismal record against the Squadra Azzura was all set to be extended.
Marco Tardelli beats centre-back Bernd Förster to the ball to sweep Italy into a two-goal lead in Madrid
An Alessandro Altobelli strike with nine minutes remaining more or less wrapped things up, and although Paul Breitner pulled a goal back with a fine snapshot two minutes later, there would be no spectacular late comeback for Derwall’s side.
Germany had now played four World Cup matches against Italy, and had not won one of them.
FIFA World Cup Final, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, 11.07.1982
1-3 (0-0)
Breitner 83. / Cabrini pen 25., Rossi 57., Tardelli 69., Altobelli 81.
Germany FR: Schumacher – Kaltz, Stielike, Kh. Förster, B. Förster – Dremmler (62. Hrubesch), Breitner, Kh. Rummenigge (c) (70. Ha. Müller), Briegel – Littbarski, K. Fischer
Italy: Zoff – Collovati, Scirea, Gentile, Bergomi – Oriali, Tardelli, Cabrini – Conti, Rossi, Graziani (7. Altobelli, 89. Causio)
Referee: Arnaldo Cézar Coelho (Brazil)
Assistants: Abraham Klein (Israel), Vojtěch Christov (Czechoslovakia)
Yellow Cards: Dremmler, Stielike, Littbarski / Conti, Oriali
Red Cards: – / –
Attendance: 90,000