Wait, so Brazil '82 beat the League of Ireland all-stars 6-0 in a friendly?!?! Why didn't you tell me that earlier. THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING!!!111 Seriously, friendlies are almost entirely meaningless, and especially friendlies against garbage teams. The only meaningful results in that list you posted earlier are Brazil 2-1 USSR and Brazil 3-1 Argentina. Of course, Italy got roughly the same result against Argentina at that World Cup, so that's one more piece of evidence that Brazil wasn't light-years ahead of Italy, the way some people are claiming.. Probably because Serie A defenses back then were substantially better than the Seleção's defense.
1- Profanity to the max as your excuses! Now let's NAIL on: Brazil82 won all 4 games up to that fateful lost. Italy barely made 1W and 3 tie in the SAME Competition OK? You like to EXCUSE with others but you can NOT excuse for Italy IMPOTENT in attacking until that GOSH day (or LUCKY day) 2- Not probably, Serie A in 80 was very defensive true, but 6goals/23 games was NOT acceptable STAT. LOOK; it took 3 games WC level, for Rossi to score 6goals (MIRACLE eh?) and it took him 4 times (23games) to produce the same number of goals - and even with Pletini, Boniek Prandelli, Tardelli, Scirea, Gentile and Cabrini behind (even better than Italy 82 team) Look Platini, Zico could possibly score 19-22goals in SerieA same time, and they WERE NO striker like Rossi OK? Even a no name in Pruzzo could score 18-20goals as topscorer there NO MORE EXCUSES ... ACCEPT your LUCK and ENJOY it (while it won't happen many times) ... oh WAIT, Italy 2006 were one more time LUCKY to score a pk (Rosso diver) to pass a lowly Australia team and then win WC 06 by penalty shoot out (another BIG LUCK)
Its true that the friendlies brazil played against ireland and the league of ireland before the world cup were pretty meaningless but from early 1981 - 82 it was the manner in which brazil beat the other top nations like france, england and west germany etc that had the football world taking notice and predicting another world cup win for brazil.. Brazils players seemed to be on another level compared to the rest of the world and even though they had bad luck losing careca to injury their performances at the world cup only enhanced their reputation.. Its easy to look back after 32 years and pick fault with brazils tactics because they didnt win but would people remember their mistakes if they had won ?.. Theres a good reason why brazil 82 are always mentioned with the greats and its because they were great , although i have to admit that they were weakened by having serginho up front... But they were not overrated or all hype - italy claimed an epic victory - a deserved victory - but they knew they had beat the favourites and as tardelli said they celebrated as if they had already won the world cup..
..but i would not say italy were lucky..thats disrespecting italy.. They played their best game of the tournament against brazil -but i would say that brazils overconfidence and sloppiness helped italy - junior had his worse game in a brazil shirt.
Brazil were superiour to Italian Republic a few years before and plenty of years once this match. however that day in Sarrià, some Braz players were self-important and superficial and Rossi had the match of his life.
That's how you felt ... not me. I never disrespected Italy as I said: "they deswerved winning the WC82" and they were among the very good team there .. However if we nitpicked on that ONE game vs Brazil, then they were lucky (in the sense that depends on how you look at) - For 20+games Brazil ONLY allowed <0.5goals per game and in that game they made 2 bitg mistakes to hand Italy 2goals early then 3goals allowed (the whole year and the only lost game) - Entering into that game, Italy barely displayed as a team that could possibly win the WC, but they did turn the ODD against Brazil = Rossi scored 3goals in his 3 ONLY CHANCEs Combine those facts - Luck for Italy, Now if you dislike that term , then you have to admit that was BAD LUCK for Brazil ... just fact. and I accepted the bad luck ... as Brazil did lose the game
I agree with you james.. I just think it was more down to brazil playing carelessly in that game than italy having luck.. Brazil made their own bad luck ... It was just one of those days for brazil that can happen to any team.. They were complacent against a side they underrated.. No doubt brazil were a better team - but while we re on the subject - how many times in world cup history has the best team won ? How many pre tournament favourites have taken the trophy ? ..
People say history only remembers the winners but in ’82 Socrates and Brazil proved that that simply isn’t true.” I wrote the comment below to answer the best R.I.P. report - for Sócrates-Brazilian Team 1982 player -I have read, it was by Mr. Fox (David Fox of the site http://stateofthegame.co.uk/2011/12/04/r-i-p-socrates-1957-2011/), That time I agreed with him and thanked for his very well written article. This inspired me to write a football history from my childhood for the first time. For us, Brazilians, that team in 1982 are more reversed, respected, honoured than Brazilian teams in 1994 and 2002, as you noticed. That’s a pity that after loosing the world championsh in1982 and 1986, we change the way we used to play football. You can remember the way we start playing with coach Lazarone in Italy 1990, Dunga 2010 and the coach Mano Meneses nowadays (just his first game against USA worth seeing) [Thanks god, now it´s Felipão and Parreira in order to win Confederation Cup-2013] We have won twice ( we just remember sone players of them) after that and lost a final to France. Ok, we lost to France. It is not a big deal as when we lost to Italy in 1982. Everybody in my neighborhood went off their houses crying and didn’t beliving that had happened and most of them stayed outside for hours the same way like a funeral. It happened all over the country. The magic has gone. I was 12 years old and I still remember a friend phoned me to share our sadness. I stayed almost an hour listenning a relaxing tape to calm down, stop crying. Some years ago we stopped a party because all the guys started to talk about Spain 1982- how much we enjoyed when we won, our footballer pictures that was inside bubble gums…how we couldn’t stop crying after we had lost the game for Italian squad. I still remember a music a famous Brazilian singer made for them that time, word by word. Most of the world noticed them in 1981, but I had the oportunity to see them playing in my city stadium against Equador. It was a show 6X0, for safe, my father made us (my little brother and I) leave the game about 15 minutes before the end, so we walked away and I still remember listenning the people shouting- Brazil had scored more two goals ( I guess it was not three and I didn’t see them). In 1981 the most hounored player at that time, in Brazil, Zico with Flamengo team beat Livepool to be the best team in the word that time, I had to sleep at 5:00 p.m. to wake up at midnight to watch the game ( my parents rule to watcht the game that happened in Japan ). As a catholic child I made a promese not to buy anything during my school vacation- january 1982-if Flamengo got it (all money for charity). The team did and I still remember the hot dog I didn’t buy when all the children did it. So many years went by When a had the oportunity to see Romário ability with the ball as an extension of his body in his first game back ( past a long time) to Seleção after 1994. Good times. Good memories. Romantic football. Magical. Unforgetfull. Thanks Telê Santana ( passed away in 2006- years before double time world champion in Japan with São Paulo where played Raí, Socrates’ brother), Sócrates, Zico(the best), Éder, Falcão, Oscar… Doctor Sócrates was special not only in football field. This year (2014)of the World Cup in Brazil, Zico as was honored as a theme of a Carnival Samba School of Rio de Janeiro Carnival Parade in Sambódromo. http://entretenimento.r7.com/carnav...opoldinense-homenageia-zico-04032014#!/foto/1
Still remember this game as if it was yesterday. I was in the island of Mykonos in Greece at the time and avoided watching the game as I did not want to see my beloved Azzurri team lose the game as everyone expected. I went to a bar in the 2nd half and was shocked to find the result Italy 2-1 Brazil !! ended up watching the rest of the game and until today I still am shocked !
Please, using google translator, from Portuguese to English, there are two interesting news in a famous Brazilian Newspaper today: 1- Museum in honour of Pelé will be inaugurated in Santos-SP downtown five days before the beginning of the World Cup in Brazil http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/esport...-de-moeda-a-replica-da-taca-jules-rimet.shtml 2- Brazilian Journal elect the Brazilian team of all time ( TELÊ SANTANA the best coach of all time and FALCÃO is also in this dream team. Pelé, the king, got the position of ZICO, of course. http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/esport...do-bi-de-1958-62-domina-a-selecao-ideal.shtml
Tele santana was a great man who made his teams play football with style.. he would also not stand for players breaching his rules and would not hesitate to drop a player no matter how good the player was.. He was also stubborn - when the brazilian public and media were crying out for him to replace serginho in 1982 he ignored them to prove himself right.. I still dont understand why at 2-2 with italy he changed the team by moving socrates up front and brought isidoro on for serginho.. And i never understood why he took dirceu to the world cup when he was out of form...he could also have taken reinaldo but santana didnt like reinaldos outspoken nature and comments on the militia...
What's strange about Reinaldo is that Santana did not take him mostly due to his vocal political views, but Socrates was also outspoken against the right-wing government at the time in Brazil (as in the rest of Latin America). Still, didn't stop Tele from taking the Doctor to two WCs. @giles varley @Lucas Gomes
Very good point mate !! I cant believe i didnt question that myself before now ! Also why did santana take serginho if he hated violence on the pitch ? Serginho had a reputation and had a prison sentence suspended so he could go to espana 82 !
Quite possibly !! If you re interested serginho had got a jail sentence for domestic violence and he should have been inside apparently - after the world cup they should have sent him to jail for that miss against italy !!.. He once kicked a referee in the head after pushing him over !
Brazil got 5 WC's not a big miss // But I woould say that decision has costed Zico/Socrates/Falcao a WC. They deserved at least 1
It was a BIG miss james... No matter if brazil has won 5.. 1982 was a tragedy for such a special team
Serginho is lucky some hitmen didn't off him once he returned home. I read the Brazilian government had to close off some bridges after the loss since there were a couple of suicides.
yeah i heard about some suicides !! Thats taking it a bit too far !! There was a documentary on sky a few weeks ago about brazil 1982..its called footballs greatest international teams and they profile a different team every week if you re interested. Aint saw it yet my dad recorded it but he said serginho is on there talking about the team and how he was not suited to their style..
Serginho was "not good" but Junior and Cerezo were actual victims (to handle Italy win ) by their mistakes
The difference is that at some point most defensive players will make mistakes or be owned by the opponent, even as good as Junior and Toninho Cerezo. But Serginho's mistakes were of his own lack of quality, he had two clear scoring opportunities that he fumbled.
exactly.. But not only the chances he missed but his all round general play - passing and lack of control .. He stood out like a sore thumb.. And santana should have realised ...