N IGERIANS would easily recall this line from one of Nigeria’s most accomplished musicians, the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister: “Omode yi oloju Paolo Rossi, elese Maradona, onijo Roger Milla.” Barrister, as he was fondly called, was serenading an enchanting lady in his creative universe, using the names of football greats (Italy’s Paulo Rossi, Argentina’s Diego Maradona and Cameroon’s Roger Milla) to dissect aspects of her appeal. According to the musician, the lady in question had the looks of Paulo Rossi, the legs of Diego Maradona, and the dance of Roger Milla, presumably a reference to the Cameroonian’s goal celebrations in Italia 90. Instructively, of the football icons from whom the late Fuji maestro borrowed his metaphor, the listener is first introduced to a certain guy named Paolo Rossi. That certain guy, one of football’s all-time greats, died on Wednesday aged 64. The culprit was lung cancer. Italian TV channel RAI Sport, for whom Rossi had been working as a pundit, announced the news of his demise on Thursday morning.
By any standards one of the finest icons that the great footballing nation of Italy has ever produced, Paolo Rossi was an extremely decent footballer who may be said to have seen it all and won it all. It is therefore no wonder that a Nigerian utilised the gift of music to document his sensational appeal for posterity. Coming short of the traditional physicality of an out-and-out striker, Rossi was nevertheless a very quick and clinical forward. His shots showed precision, and his positional play within the box and eye for goals were superb. He could use both feet to inflict maximum damage on the opposition team. Primarily a striker, Rossi was also a fairly decent right winger and supporting forward.
Like many greats before and after him, Rossi combined club and national team success in elegant fashion. At the club level, he was the top goalscorer in Serie B in 1977. This earned his team promotion to the elite division, Serie A. The following season, Rossi scored 24 goals, writing his name into the record books as the first player to top the scoring charts in Serie B and Serie A consecutively. And when he finally made his debut for Juventus in 1981, it was with a bang. Two Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the European Cup all came in quick succession. He scored 134 goals in 338 club matches, retiring from the sport in 1987.
As a forward, Rossi etched his name in the history books when he led Italy to clinch the 1982 FIFA World Cup title. At that tournament held in Spain, the mercurial striker found the back of the net six times, finishing as the top goalscorer. During the final match played at the Santiago Bernabeu on July 11, 1982, Paulo Rossi it was who opened the scoring effort when he headed home a Claudio Gentile cross. Marco Tardelli and Alessandro Altobelli were to later add to Germany’s woes with a goal each, before Paul Breitner scored a consolation goal in the 83rd minute. It was Italy’s first World Cup in 44 years, and its third overall. Predictably, Rossi’s sterling performance earned him the Golden Ball award. On the downside, though, he had been involved in a match-fixing scandal prior to the World Cup. Awarded the 1982 Ballon d’Or as the European Footballer of the Year for his performances, Rossi is, together with compatriots Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri, Italy’s top scorer in World Cup history with nine goals. He scored 20 goals in 48 appearances for the Azzurri.
A famous footballer, Rossi was named in 2004 by Pelé as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA’s 100th anniversary celebration, the same year he placed 12th in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. After hanging his boots, Rossi worked as a pundit for Sky, Mediaset Premium, and Rai Sport. Paolo Rossi is justly regarded as one of the greatest and most prolific Italian forwards of all time. As Italian outlet La Gazetta dello Sport noted, Rossi was “the one who beat Zico’s Brazil, Maradona’s Argentina, Boniek’s Poland and in the final, the Germany of Rummenigge.” Adieu, Paolo Rossi.
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