The Germans even made it to the final, which Italy won 3-1 and became the second country after Brazil to win the World Cup for the third time.Madrid/Doha. The mathematical prerequisites before June 25, 1982 in Gijon were very simple. After beating Chile (1-0) and Algeria (2-0), Austria could afford to lose by one goal, the Germans had to win. When Horst Hrubesch beheaded the DFB-Elf in the lead in the 11th minute, the goal-oriented constellation for both teams was achieved.
For an infinitely long 80 minutes, the players of both teams pushed the ball in a non-attacking pact without seriously wanting to score a goal. 41,000 spectators in the Estadio El Molinon waved white handkerchiefs to show their displeasure, Algerian fans in the stands waved banknotes. It was enough for both teams to advance to the second round at the expense of Algeria, who didn’t benefit from the sensation against Germany (2:1). If the three teams were equal on points, the goal difference decided against the Africans.
In the intermediate round, however, the Austrians (including Prohaska, Krankl, Pezzey, Koncilia, Schachner) coached by Georg Schmidt and Felix Latzke came to an end. A 1-0 defeat by France was followed by a 2-2 draw with Northern Ireland.
The tournament, which was played with 24 teams for the first time, also had a second negative highlight. And again Germany was involved. In the semifinals against France, goalkeeper Toni Schumacher brutally hit Frenchman Patrick Battiston at full speed in the style of a kung fu fighter. The striker was unconscious, lost three teeth, suffered concussion and spinal injuries. “I’ll pay him the jacket crowns,” said the keeper, who was not expelled, initially rudely – before traveling to France weeks later to apologize to Battiston.
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Germany finally came back from a 3-1 deficit in extra time and qualified for the final on penalties. Italy was waiting there. The “Squadra Azzurra” struggled through the first round with three draws against Poland, Cameroon and Peru, threw out defending champion Argentina with the young Diego Maradona (2:1) and favorites Brazil (3:2) in the second round and eliminated Poland 2-0 in the semifinals.
The final became a no-brainer for the Italians, who claimed the title for the third time after 1934 and 1938. In the 3-1 win, Paul Breitner only scored the consolation goal in the 83rd minute.
It was crucial that Italy’s star striker Paulo Rossi found his goal threat again at the end of the tournament and was ultimately top scorer with six goals and also voted best player of the tournament. However, his nomination by team boss Enzo Bearzot raised a lot of dust, as Rossi was banned for two years for his involvement in a betting scandal, but was pardoned in good time at Bearzot’s instigation. Goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest football world champion at the age of 40 years and 133 days in his last of four final tournaments.
Source: Nachrichten
