Italian football legend Paolo Rossi (64) has died

In Italy, people react with dismay to his death. His wife writes on Instagram that Rossi was terminally ill.

“Terribly sad news: Paolo Rossi has passed away,” presenter Enrico Varriale told RAI Sport, the channel where Rossi was active as a commentator on Thursday. The Gazzetta Dello Sport talks about “terrible news in the middle of the night” about the “hero of 1982”. “It bothers all Italians and the whole football world.”

In Italy, Rossi made himself immortal in particular thanks to his performance at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He became the top scorer with six goals, including a hat-trick in the second group stage against the favorite Brazilian (3-2) and two in the semi-final against Poland, won 2-0. In the final battle against West Germany (3-1), he also scored a goal. As well as being the top scorer and World Cup winner, he was also named the tournament’s best player. It was the prelude to the Ballon d’Or, which was awarded to him later that year.

Rossi eventually made 48 caps for the ‘Azzurri’ and scored 20 goals. During his club career he played for Juventus, Vicenza, Como, Perugia, AC Milan and Hellas Verona. With Juve, Rossi won the European Cup II in 1984 and the European Cup I. In 1987, he retired from football after a final season at Hellas.

In 1980, while playing for Perugia, the Italian was banned for three years for involvement in a match-fixing scandal. The suspension was then reduced to two years, so that the forward could still go to the World Cup.