1982 FIFA World Cup Final

The 1982 FIFA World Cup Final was an anticlimactic affair following the epic semi-final between West Germany and France which was eventually won by the West Germans on penalty kicks, after finishing level 3-3 after 120 minutes. While the Italians were fresh and confident following their famous win over Brazil and easy win over Poland, West Germany were tired and hadn't recovered from the epic they had been involved in days earlier against an equally difficult opponent. After a scoreless first half during which Antonio Cabrini fired a penalty wide of goal, the fresher legs of the Italians and the swagger gained from their previous two victories began to make the difference between the teams and Paolo Rossi again scored first by heading home a bouncing Claudio Gentile cross from close range. Once behind, the Germans threw more men forward at the expense of defence in the hopes they could equalize quickly without having to exert too much control, which they would struggle with in their tired condition. That way they could revert to their original plan, but this move left large gaps at the back for Italy to counterattack. This led to the Azzurri scoring twice more as the tactic didn't pay off quickly enough and Italy was given too much time to exploit the weaknesses presented. Marco Tardelli's splendid shot from the edge of the area (and his legendary shouting and arm-pumping celebration) beat Schumacher first, and Alessandro Altobelli at the end of a trademark counterattack led by nimble winger Bruno Conti made it 3-0. Italy's lead appeared secure, encouraging Italian president Sandro Pertini to wag his finger at the cameras in a playful 'not going to catch us now' gesture, overcoming an initial reluctance from the Italian crowd to declare victory after West Germany's famous comeback in the semi-final. In the 83rd minute Breitner managed to put a small scare back into the Italians by grabbing a goal but it was never enough and Italy claimed their first World Cup title in 48 years, and their third in total with a 3-1 victory.

Coming after the 1934 and 1938 victories, Italy had now drawn level with record champions Brazil. Italy's Paolo Rossi won both the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer, and the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player (handed out for the very first time), and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest-ever player to win the World Cup. Germany would recover to reach the World Cup final again in 1986 and then winning in 1990.

Match details

footballbox
date = 1982-07-11
time = 20:00
team1 = fb-rt|ITA
report = [http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=59/results/matches/match=923/report.html (Report)]
score = 3 – 1
team2 = fb|FRG
goals1 = Rossi goal|57
Tardelli goal|69
Altobelli goal|81
goals2 = Breitner goal|83
stadium = Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
attendance = 90,000
referee = Arnaldo Cézar Coelho (Brazil)

External links

* [http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1982/final_ita_v_ger.html 1982 wc final planetworldcup.com]