On this day in 1982, Italy beat Argentina 2-1 in the first match of the World Cup second round.
The Azzurri had scraped through the group stage, drawing every game but qualifying ahead of Cameroon by virtue of goals scored.
Enzo Bearzot’s men were under fire, in particular striker Paolo Rossi who looked painfully short of match fitness after a lengthy ban for his part in a match-fixing scandal.
It was therefore a tough task which awaited them in the second group phase, as they were drawn against Zico’s Brazil and world champions Argentina.
On this day in 1982, Italy beat Argentina 2-1 in the first match of the World Cup second round.
The Azzurri had scraped through the group stage, drawing every game but qualifying ahead of Cameroon by virtue of goals scored.
Enzo Bearzot’s men were under fire, in particular striker Paolo Rossi who looked painfully short of match fitness after a lengthy ban for his part in a match-fixing scandal.
It was therefore a tough task which awaited them in the second group phase, as they were drawn against Zico’s Brazil and world champions Argentina.
The Albiceleste were up first, boasting the likes of Daniel Passarella, Ossie Ardiles, Mario Kempes and a 21-year-old Diego Maradona.
The match was played at Espanyol’s Sarrià Stadium, with Claudio Gentile assigned to mark Maradona.
The defender’s rough treatment of the future Napoli legend has gone down in infamy, with El Diego fouled a record 23 times in that match.
It was Marco Tardelli who opened the scoring just before the hour mark, firing a left-footed shot into the far corner after a clever reverse pass from Giancarlo Antognoni.
The Azzurri then allowed a free header just eight yards from goal, and were relieved to see Daniel Bertoni head straight at Dino Zoff.
Maradona had hearts in mouths when he curled in a free-kick, but his left-footed strike came back of the post.
Zoff was the forced to claw Passarella’s header out from under his crossbar, but Italy launched a counter-attack.
The ball eventually found its way through for the much maligned Rossi, with the Argentinian defence appealing for offside.
Rossi hadn’t scored a single goal in his four games so far, and could only stab the ball off Ubaldo Fillol’s chest when played through one-on-one.
Fortunately for the Juventus striker, Bruno Conti had surged forward down the left to retrieve the ball.
He laid the ball back for Antonio Cabrini, who made no mistake in slamming the ball into the corner.
Argentina captain Passarella made it 2-1 with a thunderous free-kick with seven minutes to play, but Italy held on for a surprise win.