Italy v Argentina
Spain 1982 | Second group stage
Sarria, Barcelona
Attendance: 43,000
Going into the game
Tickets sold out quicker than crema catalana in Barcelona’s bustling bakeries. Spain weren’t playing, but the Culers’ new darling was. Barça had just smashed the world-transfer record to sign Diego Maradona – ironically he’d outranked a man he’d be sharing grass with in Paolo Rossi – and locals were raring to wow at the supernatural skills that had savaged Hungary and El Salvador in Alicante.
Italy had, unthinkably, failed to win a first-phase match for the first time at a major tournament. Fate, and goals scored, had sneaked them through over FIFA World Cup™ debutants Cameroon. It had not, however, exempted them from extreme scorching from the unrelenting Italian press. Rossi was subjected to the most. Only one of his team-mates was exempt. Bruno Conti had flashed his seldom flair, bagged a belter against Peru and set up a survival-snatching goal from Francesco Graziani.
It was widely expected that Albiceleste would upstage Azzurri. The consensus was that Argentina and Brazil were in a two-way tussle for Group C’s ticket to the semi-finals.
The game
The theme was established early and adhered to: Claudio Gentile, whose surname means ‘kind’ in Italian, was physically unkind to Maradona at every opportunity as Conti swindled Argentinians with his mystical footwork. The Nettuno native’s first-half exploits included miraculously retaining possession near his own area, masterfully helping to lay on a Rossi chance, and ghosting past four challenges within six seconds.
Marco Tardelli, who had tested Ubaldo Fillol’s reflexes from 40 yards, arrowed the Azzurri ahead after the restart, before Maradona’s free-kick thudded back off the post and Dino Zoff made two smart saves as Italy held on. Some Conti genius relieved the pressure. The 27-year-old won possession inside the Argentinian area, dummied Fillol to his knees, and toe-poked the ball back for Antonio Cabrini to thump into a semi-guarded net.
Daniel Passarella reduced the arrears with a swerving free-kick late on, but Americo Gallego soon saw red and Cesar Luis Menotti’s outnumbered men were unable to force an equaliser. Catalonians had come to see the coronation of a king, but instead went home blown away by ‘The Mayor of Rome’.
Quotes
“Everyone was talking about Maradona, but now everyone is talking about Bruno Conti. He’s a joy to watch. He plays like a Brazilian. Brazil will have to be very wary of this ‘MaraZico’.”
Pele
“Italy managed to stop Maradona, but Argentina had no answer to Conti. He always wants the ball. He has magical skills, defenders don’t know what he’s going to do. He was fantastic.”
Jimmy Hill
“Cabrini scored the second goal, but it was down to a masterpiece by Bruno Conti. Everyone fell for his feints on the pitch.”
Fulvio Collovati
“A really strong friendship was born between me and Maradona that day. Our defenders gave him some rough treatment, but he never complained. I gained great respect for him and he told me he gained great admiration for my style of play. After that game, every time he saw me, he’d say, ‘You are football. Come and play with me at Napoli.’ He invited me to his wedding, he came to visit me in Trigoria.”
Bruno Conti
Trivia
Conti was tipped for a career in USA’s Major League Baseball. A highly-talented pitcher for the Black Angels San Francesco and Nettuno Baseball Club, Californian college Santa Monica offered him a scholarship when he was 15. Bricklayer Andrea Conti rejected it, saying his son was too young. A few years later, Bruno joined Roma and spent his entire 18-year career at the Stadio Olimpico.
Gentile fouled Maradona a mind-blowing 23 times. It comfortably remains a record for one player fouling another in a World Cup game. Gentile was punished merely with a yellow card and, post-match, barked immortally: “Football is not for ballerinas.”
The day after the game, Conti and Francesco Graziani courageously – or crazily – threw perpetually stone-faced coach Enzo Bearzot, who was fully clothed, in the hotel swimming pool. To the surprise of the Italian players, ‘The Old Man’ got out, gave a wry smile and let it go.
