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IV Trader: Yes , an excellent team and definetly favorite to win , but best team since 1970 ? I think the 1982 team ( with Zico , Eder , Socrates and the rest) was better. This scum Sergihno missed at least 10 scoring chances ; he is the worst Brazilian national player I ever saw ( and Dunga is right there next to him)
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June 1, 2006
SouthAmerica: The only thing that I remember from the 1982 world cup is the game between Brazil and Italy. I remember very clearly the 3 goals that Paolo Rossi scored against Brazil.
But the only goal that really stayed on my mind all these years was a silly goal that Brazil gave as a gift to the Italians. A Brazilian defender had the ball and he was moving forward on the right side of the field (I donât remember if it was Toninho Cerezo, or Junior) then for no justifiable reason that defender decided to pass the ball to another Brazilian player who was on his left side in the center of the field and Paolo Rossi intercepted the pass and run in the direction of the Brazilian goal and scored a very easy goal. (I still donât understand how in a world cup a player could make such a silly mistake â there was no reason for the Italians to score that goal other than an astronomic mistake made by a Brazilian player.
All Brazil needed at that game against the Italians was a tie for Brazil to move forward to the semi-final game.
The mistake that that Brazilian player made in the 1982 game against Italy when the Brazilian team was eliminated â it did cost Brazil in a big way and that is the kind of mistake that I am afraid it can happen again â a silly mistake made by a world-class player can cost the game, and put an end to Brazilâs chance of winning another world cup.
As I mentioned before, the only time I was 100 percent sure and did not have a single doubt on my mind that Brazil was going to win every time â it was when Pele was on the field â not only in the Brazilian national team but also on Santos FC â I always had the feeling that with Pele Brazil was invincible. The other players of the Brazilian team and also of the opposition were all aware of the presence of Pele in the field â Pele was pure magic.
Over the years I saw Pele play more than 100 times â and since the mid-60âs every player that is coming up and become a star people compare him to Pele. He became the yardstick to measure greatness as a soccer player, but as far as I am concerned since 1958 there is only one Pele â and below him we have a bunch of other great players such as, Garrincha, Didi, Vava, Zito, Gerson, Rivelino, Tostao, Jairzinho, Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zico, Arthur Friedenreich, and so many others.
As far as I know the only other player that can possibly be compared with Pele it was Leonidas da Silva. A lot of Brazilian old timers who saw Leonidas and Pele play soccer - say that Leonidas was as great as Pele - But Leonidas was away before my time.
Pele is in a class by himself â and everybody else including Maradona belongs to the next level â below Pele.
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1982 World Cup in Spain.
Itália 3 x 2 Brasil
Data: 05/07/82 Local: Estádio Sarria, em Barcelona
Itália: Zoff, Gentile, Cabrini, Collovati (Bergomi), Scirea, Tardelli (Marini), Antognoni, Oriali, Conti, Rossi, Graziani.
Técnico: Enzo Bearzot
Brasil: Valdir Perez, Leandro, Oscar, Luizinho, Júnior, Cerezo, Zico, Falcão, Serginho (Paulo Isidoro), Sócrates, Eder.
Técnico: Telê Santana
Juiz: Abgaham Klein (ISR)
Gols: Rossi (3, ITA); Sócrates e Falcão (BRA)
A Itália vinha capengando e não deveria ser páreo. No entanto um jogador que estava desacreditado até por seus companheiros acabou com o sonho brasileiro. Paolo Rossi marcou o primeiro para os italianos aos 5min. Sócrates empatou aos 12min. Rossi colocou a Itália novamente à frente aos 25min. No segundo tempo, Falcão deixou novamente tudo igual, aos 23min. No entanto a noite era de Rossi. A 15 minutos do final, o atacante marcou seu terceiro gol na partida e selou a classificação italiana.
Na primeira fase, apesar de algumas dificuldades, o time do Brasil, ao lado da Inglaterra, foi o único que venceu seus três jogos (2 a 1 na URSS, 4 a 1 na Escócia e 4 a 0 na Nova Zelândia). Na segunda fase, depois da convincente vitória sobre a Argentina por 3 a 1, tudo parecia correr para o óbvio.
Os italianos, com três empates (0 a 0 com a Polônia, 1 a 1 com o Peru e 1 a 1 contra Camarões), classificaram-se apenas no saldo de gols. Tinham dois marcados, contra um de Camarões. O inÃcio trôpego não impediu a equipe italiana de brilhar no restante da competição.
Na segunda fase, passou pela Argentina, com uma vitória por 2 a 1. O Brasil também venceu a Argentina (3 a 1). A decisão da vaga nas semifinais ficou para o jogo entre Brasil e Itália. Com três gols de Paolo Rossi, os italianos fizeram 3 a 2 nos brasileiros e despacharam o time de Telê Santana, que contava com craques como Zico, Sócrates, Falcão e Cerezo, quarteto que formou um dos maiores meio-campos da história do paÃs.
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