Italy World Cup Rewind: The Third Star—1982 vs. West Germany

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at Internationaled.org

Published: May 9, 2014

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Welcome again to Bleacher Report's series of Italy World Cup Rewinds.  Over the last few months we've been taking a look back at some of the best—and worst—moments in the history of the Azzurri at the World Cup.  Two weeks ago we relived the second-round match between Italy and Brazil that sent Italy on to the 1982 semifinals.  Today we move forward one week to one of the most glorious moments in the team's history: the victory over West Germany that gave the Azzurri their long-awaited third world title.

 

The Tournament

The 1982 tournament in Spain was similar in format to the previous two but had a slight tweak.  Like the '74 and '78 showpieces, the '82 World Cup saw the use of a second group phase.  Unlike those tournaments, however, there were four three-team groups rather than two four-team groups, and the winners of those four groups advanced to a semifinal round.  

Since the last two Cups had seen the winners of the second two groups progress directly to the final and the runners-up directly to the third-place game, this proved to be the first World Cup to have a semifinal in 12 years.

 

The Run-Up

Italy's exploits in the early phases of the tournament were discussed in our last installment, so we won't repeat them here.



After their famous victory against Brazil, the Azzurri were drawn into a rematch with Poland, who had been in their opening group and edged them out for first place.  The two teams had played to a 0-0 draw in the first round.  

Paolo Rossi had been lifeless in that first match, but this time he continued to mine the rich vein of form he had discovered against Brazil.  He scored in the 22nd minute and again in the 78th to seal an easy 2-0 victory and send the Italians to the final for the second time in four tournaments.

West Germany had been the ...
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