FOOTY FAIR

Football's Biggest Ever Scandals (Part 2 of 5): Totonero 1980

2016-02-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Mention the name Paolo Rossi to football fans and immediately the conversation will focus on his exploits at the 1982 World Cup. Rossi's tournament leading six goals led Italy to their first world championship in forty-four years, and the man from Prato was lauded as a national hero.

In particular, his memorable hat trick in a 3-2 defeat of a brilliant Brazilian side is rightly considered one of the greatest individual performances in a World Cup finals match.

Lost in the sands of time though is the fact that Rossi being at the World Cup at all that summer was rather controversial. In the years preceding the tournament, Rossi was a key player at the centre of one of Italian football's most notorious scandals and his story goes a little beyond his accomplishments in Spain '82.

Playing for Perugia in 1979-1980, Rossi bagged 13 goals in Serie A while helping the club to 9th place in the league and also seeing them through to the last 16 in the UEFA Cup.

All was not well in Italian football though and a scandal was about to burst Perugia and the league's bubble.

On 23 March 1980 the Guardia di Finanza announced that they had received information from two Roman shopkeepers that several Italian players were openly asking for money to throw matches.

Dubbed by the press as the Totonero affair, named after the term for illegal gambling schemes in Italy, the scandal went deeper than the fans initially feared.

The Guardia di Finanza eventually uncovered a betting syndicate that had attempted to influence numerous matches in Serie A and B.

From Serie A the club's found to be among the primary protagonists were AC Milan, Lazio, Perugia, Bologna, Napoli and Avellino. While in Serie B, the only two clubs the authorities were able to pin anything on was Taranto and Palermo.

There were mass arrests as a result, with several players including Rossi handed multi-year bans from football.

As for the club's themselves, Milan and Lazio were handed the harshest punishments as they were relegated to Serie B. Perugia, Bologna, Napoli, Avellino, Taranto and Palermo were given five point penalties for their part in the scandal.

Rossi, who was handed a three-year ban for his role in Totonero, later had his suspension cut short by 12 months so he could join up with Italy at the 1982 World Cup and the rest, as they say, is history.

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Football's Biggest Ever Scandals:
(Part 1 of 5): Manchester City's Under the Table Payments
(Part 2 of 5): Totonero 1980
(Part 3 of 5): Maradona Gets Kicked Out of USA '94
(Part 4 of 5): Olympique de Marseille's Epic Run of Corruption and Lies
(Part 5 of 5): Bad Santa - The Unbelievable Story of Chuck Blazer

Mid-Week Rants: The “Once in Two Years” Fanatics

2014-06-04T18:00:00.000-04:00

(This Portuguese fan's talent for painting the Guinea flag on his face is impeccable!)

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting tournament in the world, and a great platform for kids to get into football. But while I don’t expect an 8 year-old to recite the participating nations in order of their groups, there’s no excuse for a 40 some year old dude with his face painted green, white and red, screaming “Forza Azzurri” at the TV in his local pub to at least name the starting eleven on his beloved team. Let’s face it, every sporting event (except for curling maybe) brings out a lot of “die-hard supporters” who can’t even tell you where the tournament is being held. Simply put, if you can’t tell me which nations your team had to go through in the qualifying stage, you shouldn’t pretend to be a “hard-core” supporter.

In Mother Russia, Football Plays You…

Just the other week, while having a meal at an outdoor patio I was deep in conversation with a friend of mine about the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, when a Russian fellow overheard us and approached us with his own “two-cents”. “How do you feel about Russia winning the World Cup?” he asked me. I went on to tell him that while I like what Capello did with the team, I don’t think they stand a chance of winning the whole tournament. (Side note: when I said “Capello” I’m pretty sure he looked at my plate. I’m almost certain he had no idea who he was, and thought I was talking about my pasta dish) His reaction blew me away; he said: “What are you talking about? Russia already won the whole thing, I think they beat Finland or Norway in the finals. It hit me, the man was simply confusing our conversation about the FIFA World Cup to that about the Hockey World Championships that just ended last month. “Oh you mean the Hockey World Cup, yes it was a good final” I said. “No, soccer, isn't that what you were talking about?” was his reply, at which moment I realized that not only does he have no clue about football at all, he knows nothing about sports altogether. The guy was pretty huge and in a much better shape than me, so instead of punching him right in the chin for ruining my lunch with his stupidity I elected to politely change the conversation to talk about Body Mass Index or small testicles, or something else that he could actually provide educated input about.

The Split Portsonality

Surely, everyone wants to belong, and even more so, everyone wants to belong to the winner’s side. Some of the “part-time” Portuguese supporters have found a way to double their chances of feeling like winners after the World Cup is done. If there was ever an infomercial that was selling Portuguese flags, it would go something like this: “Don’t miss your chance to buy this spectacular Portugal flag…BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE…If you buy this flag right now, you’ll get a Brazilian flag for free!” That’s right, I’ve seen this so many times I can’t even remember if some of the people I know personally are Portuguese or Brazilian. As soon as Ronaldo sheds his first tear of elimination, the Portuguese flags come off and the Brazilin ones are flying with ultimate pride. Stop doing that! Just because you speak the same language doesn’t make you the same, and even worse, if you ask a Portuguese person about the differences between the Portuguese and Brazilians you will be stuck in a 4 hour lecture, all leading to the fact that except for the language they have absolutely nothing in common.

The Azzurri

I have many Italian friends, all of whom I consider very nice people (this part is the one that hopefully helps me get away from being stabbed by a Pauly D lookalike). During major football tournaments however, some of the Italian fans are just absolutely the most unbearable. Sure they’ve got lots to brag about with the 4 world titles, of course Italy is almost always being talked about as one of the favorites to win the whole thing, but some of the arrogance is just unreal and the excuses are great. It’s also very noticeable that the less an Italian fan knows about the game of football, the more annoyingly proud they are during the World Cup and Euros. Here are some great bits I’ve heard from the Azzurri “faithful” over the years, most of whom had Italian football merchandise on, about 18 Italy flags on their car and just had their hair spray-painted in the Italian flag colors: (every single one is 100% true)

“You could tell that he was too nervous.” (About Roberto Baggio’s penalty miss in the 1994 final)
“Italy is so much better, they should have let us go through instead.” (When Italy was eliminated in the group stages at the 2004 Euro. They were level on points with Denmark and Sweden, but the Scandinavians had a better goal differential)
“What are you talkin’ about? The dive was ok, because he was going to foul him eventually anyway.” (Talking about the penalty-kick decision against the Australians at the 2006 World Cup)
“They would win this year again if they had an easier group.” (When Italy came in last place in the group stages at the 2010 World Cup. The group consisted of Italy, Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zeland)
“FIFA wanted Spain to win.” (After the 4-0 drubbing in the 2012 UEFA Euro finals)
“How could he play for both England and Italy? Isn’t that against the rules? (An Italian fan with his face painted, asking me about Balotelli after he just heard on the TV that the striker plays in the English Premier League)

Let’s face it, we all know what kind of fan we are, so if you watch football just once or twice every 4 years, don’t shamelessly plug yourself into a heated debate about the beautiful game. At least open the paper once in a while and see what’s going on with your team, or any other team for that matter.

World Cup Heroes - Paolo Rossi

2014-05-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

Paolo Rossi’s professional career lasted just 13 years as he retired from football in 1987 at the somewhat early age of 31. And while Rossi doesn’t even come near the top 10 most capped Italian internationals, his performance during the 1982 Fifa World Cup in Spain made him an instant legend and a “no-doubt” pick for our World Cup Heroes series.

1978 World Cup

While Rossi’s club football success is most notable during his days with Juventus, his first call-up to the Italian squad came in 1977 when he was playing for domestic side Lanerossi Vicenza (currently just called Vicenza). A year later at the age of 21 Rossi was named to the Italian squad that would fly across the Atlantic, to compete in the 1978 Fifa World Cup in Argentina. Drawn in a group with Hungary, France and hosts Argentina, the Italian squad with Rossi up-front managed to avoid any damage, winning all 3 matches. Paolo Rossi scored a goal in each of the first two matches, but although he could not manage a goal against the hosts, the Italians came out victorious with a 1-0 win, Argentina managed to avoid embarrassment with a second place finish. In the next round (again played in a group format, with the winners of the two groups advancing straight to the Finals) Rossi did not manage to shine, and although his goal was the one that provided Italy with a 1-0 victory, Italy could not manage to claim first place in their group, qualifying to the 3rd place match up against Brazil and losing that as well, with Rossi in the line-up, but unable to put a ball past Brazilian keeper Leão.

Totonero Scandal – Omission from the 1980 Euros squad

In 1980, Paolo Rossi along with 19 other footballers and 2 team managers was involved in the Totonero gambling scandal. He was suspended from football for 2 year (reduced from an original 3 year sentence) and therefore had to miss out on the 1980 Euros that coincidentally took place in Italy, with the host nation of course being favorites to win the title on home soil. But without Rossi and partner striker Bruno Giordano (who was also involved in the Totonero), Italy managed to produce very little offense, scoring just twice in four matches and watched West Germany raise the trophy in Rome.

1982 World Cup

The 1982 World Cup in Spain was Paolo Rossi’s stamp on the world of football. But to understand the intricate details of what went on, let’s briefly talk about up the format changes that the 1982 tournament took on.

THE FORMAT: In the first round robin the 24 participating nations were divided into 6 groups of 4 teams. The two group winners would then go-on to the next round, in which the 12 squads were put into 4 groups of 3 teams. And lastly, the winners of the 4 groups would advance to the semi-finals (hopefully you can understand how it worked from there without having to purchase Soccer for Dummies).

In the first group stage, Italy were drawn in with Poland, Cameroon and Peru. But while it seemed like a fairly easy draw for the Azzurri, Rossi (who now played for Italian giants Juventus) could not find his feet and could not find the net in all of his nation’s three matches. Italy managed to scrape by and qualify to the next round over third place (and first time World Cup participant) Cameroon by a virtue of having scored more goals, a total of 2 in 3 matches.

From that moment on it would be Paolo Rossi, who would almost single-handedly provide the Italians with their third World Cup title. Drawn with world football giants Argentina and Brazil in the second round of play, few gave the Italians a chance of qualifying to the semis, after their dismal performances in the previous stage. But, with the Italians claiming a 2-1 victory over the Argentines and Brazil doing so as well with a score of 3-1, the match-up that would put Rossi on the world stage was set, with Italy and Brazil having to play it out for a spot in the semi-finals. Brazil held a one goal advantage in the differential, and so a loss or a draw would show the exit door to the Italians. Rossi was not in a mood to wait long, and headed a good ball from teammate Cabrini past Brazilian keeper Waldir Peres in just the 5th minute to give Italy the advantage. But a Brazilian squad filled with talented footballers the likes of Socrates, Zico and Falcao, seemed to have all the answers, and just 7 minutes later, fooling Italian keeper Dino Zoff with a shot to the near post, Socrates tied the game up at 1-1. In the 25th minute of the match Rossi injected life into the Italian squad yet again, pouncing on a defensive mistake made by the Brazilians and scoring his second of the match with a powerful strike from just outside the box. In the second half, with the Italians still ahead 2-1, Rossi had an incredible chance inside the Brazilian box to put a third goal in and surely place his team in the semis, but saw his shot go wide of the post. The Brazilians pressed on and although keeper Zoff made sure the ball stayed out of his net on multiple occasions, in the 68th minute the Italian defense froze with the ball at Brazilian midfielder Falcao’s feet; Falcao’s strike left Zoff helpless and with just over 20 minutes to play Brazil was on course to a semi-final qualification. 6 minutes later, a corner-kick for the Italians would prove to be the decisive moment of the match, and a moment Paolo Rossi would cherish for the rest of his life. A harmless looking ball to the edge of the Brazilian box found a couple of players before conveniently landing at Rossi’s feet, and with the easiest half-volley he would ever attempt, Rossi had his hat-trick and a place in the World Cup semi-finals.

In the semis the Italians would meet Poland for the second time in this tournament. After a 0-0 draw in their previous encounter less than a month earlier in front of 33,000 spectators in Vigo, the stage was set for Rossi to shine on a bigger stage at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. Rossi did not disappoint, again scoring all of Italy’s goals in a 2-0 victory that would seal a finals match-up with the West Germans who raised the European championship trophy just two years earlier on Italian ground. In the finals, in front of an audience of 90,000 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, both the Italians and Germans failed to find a goal in the first half (Italy missed a penalty in the first half). But in the second half, the already “back and forth” match opened up even more and the goals started to flow, with Rossi opening the scoring in the 57th minute by way of a low headed ball inside the German box. Rossi would not score another goal in the match, but his teammates found a way to secure a glorious 3-1 victory, and claim the World Cup title.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Rossi received the Golden Boot award for most goals in the tournament with a tally of 6. He was also crowned the best player in the tournament with the first ever Golden Ball award.

1984 & 1986

Leading up to the European Championships in France 1984, The Italian national team struggled in the qualifying matches and with just 1 goal from Paolo Rossi (in the very final match of qualifying against Cyprus) Italy failed to qualify to the tournament they hosted just 4 years earlier.

In 1986, Rossi was selected to represent his country and defend the World Cup title in Mexico. However, due to injury Rossi did not play in the tournament; marking the 1982 Fifa World Cup not only as the most memorable and important tournament in Rossi’s career, but also as the last major tournament he would ever play in, retiring from professional football one year later in 1987.

In 2004, Brazilian legend Pelé released a list of 125 “Greatest Living Footballers” to commemorate FIFA’s 100 year anniversary. Paolo Rossi along with 13 other Italian internationals were named on that list.

SEE THE OTHER HEROES IN THIS SERIES>

The 19 Oldest Players in Brazil 2014 (PART 2)

2014-05-16T12:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we gave you Part 1 of the 19 oldest players that will participate in this year's World Cup in Brazil. Now we introduce the final and oldest 10. With some incredible names in the mix, this summer's tournament promises to feature many stars' goodbyes from the international football scene.

< READ (PART 1)

#10 - Stipe Pletikosa – CROATIA – DOB: January 8, 1979

Even though his teammate Danijel Subašić has been making a bit of a name for himself at Monaco, it is the 35 year old Pletikosa who started in goal for Croatia in every qualifying match leading up to the World Cup. Pletikosa is a very talented keeper standing at 193cm (6’4”) currently playing his club football at FC Rostov in the Russian Premier League. Capped 109 times so far for the Croatian national team since 1999, we believe that Stipe Pletikosa still has a lot to showcase. With Croatia playing tough opponents in Brazil, Cameroon and Mexico, the Croat keeper may be the difference between a successful tournament or first round elimination for his nation.

#9 – Frank Lampard – ENGLAND – DOB: June 20, 1978

The England national and Chelsea FC icon will be turning 36 just a day after his country’s second group match versus Uruguay. With the Uruguayans being arguably England’s main hurdle of qualifying to the next round, Lampard could be celebrating his birthday in style with a victory, or in agony, pondering about what went wrong. Age aside, Lampard is still a key figure in England’s squad with over 100 caps to his name with the national team since his call-up in 1999. He scored 4 goals for England in the qualifying stages. This will mark Lampard’s 4th major tournament with the Three Lions, a third World Cup.

#8 – Miroslav Klose – GERMANY – DOB: June 9, 1978

This Polish born, German international’s call-up to the World Cup squad received some criticism from fans and media, mainly due to his age and the omission of fellow countryman Mario Gómez who also plays as a striker. With Gómez struggling with injuries earlier this year however, Klose is a darn good force for Germany to have up front. Turning 36 just 6 days prior to the World Cup, Miroslav Klose is still a very prolific striker and always a threat in the air. Averaging almost 0.5 goals per game for the national team, and being the second highest scorer in World Cup history with 14 goals over 3 tournaments, the opposition defences will concentrate more on his skill rather than his age.

#7 – Didier Drogba – IVORY COAST – DOB: March 11, 1978

Assuming he plays, Ivory Coast’s opening World Cup match against Japan will mark 36 year old Drogba’s 100th appearance for his country. Now with Galatasaray in Turkey, the once Chelsea star is the all-time top scorer in the history of the Ivorian national team. This year’s squad however, may have more competition in the striker position than ever before. With the likes of Gervinho, Salomon Kalou, Wilfried Bony, Saydou Doumbia and Lacina Traoré, it will be interesting to see whether Ivory Coast’s French manager Sabri Lamouchi decides to use Drogba on a regular basis, in a group where the Ivorians feel they have a pretty good chance to claim one of the first two places and qualify to the next stage of the competition.

#6 - Daniel Van Buyten – BELGIUM – DOB: February 7, 1978

This Bayern Munich center-back started 5 out of 10 qualifying matches for Belgium leading up to the World Cup, and at 36 years of age this may be a good sign on whether or not he will see action in this summer’s tournament. However, Vincent Kompany’s presence in the Belgian squad always means that there is only 1 other center-back position that is open, and Van Buyten has to compete for that roster spot with Zenit St. Petersburg’s Nicolas Lombaerts and Arsenal’s Thomas Vermaelen. Since both Kompany and Vermaelen are known to pick a knock or two every once in a while, Belgium’s manager Marc Wilmots will be glad to have the veteran in the team at least as an “insurance policy”.

#5 - Gianluigi Buffon – ITALY – DOB: January 28, 1978

At 36 years of age, Gigi Buffon is still considered to be one of the top goalkeepers in world football. With Mattia Perin and even Salvatore Sirigu currently offering very little in terms of competition for the Juventus legend, Buffon is most likely to feature in all of Italy’s matches in what could be his last World Cup appearance. The 2006 World Cup winner with Italy has been capped 139 times for his country to-date and his presence in goal gives the Azzurri hope of glory as long as he’s there. Drawn to a tough group that includes England and Uruguay, all eyes in “the boot of Europe” will be on him to see how he handles facing the likes of Wayne Rooney, Edison Cavani and especially Luis Suarez.

#4 - Noel Valladares – HONDURAS – DOB: May 3, 1977

37 years old, and captain of the Honduran national team, Valladares is the 2nd most capped footballer for Honduras with over 100 matches played in goal for his nation. Valladares is not very well known around the football world mainly for the fact that he spent his entire career in the Honduran domestic league, where he helped 2 different squads to 14 combined league titles.

#3 - Giorgos Karagounis – GREECE - DOB: March 6, 1977

The second Greek national on our list, Karagounis will be the third oldest footballer at this summer’s World Cup. Born in Pyrgos, a small Greek town with a population of about 25,000, Karagounis became somewhat of a hero, especially after his incredible goal during Greece’s opening match at the 2004 Euros against hosts Portugal, his first major tournament, and one Greece would eventually win, claiming one of the biggest surprises in the history of international football. Currently with Fulham FC, this will almost certainly be the 37 year old’s last World Cup appearance for his country.

#2 – Mario Yepes – COLOMBIA – DOB: January 13, 1976

This former Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan defender will be participating in his first and only World Cup this summer, after which he will retire from football altogether. What a way to finish a long career! Whether or not he will be included in José Pékerman’s staring 11 is yet to be seen, but it is worthy to note that in Colombia’s final qualifying match for the 2014 World Cup, Yepes (who is a defender) scored twice in a 2-1 win over Paraguay. Mario Yepes has won league titles with clubs in Colombia, Argentina and Italy, and was a Copa America winner with his country in 2001.

#1 – Faryd Mondragón – COLOMBIA – DOB: June 21, 1971

Born in 1971, Mondragón is by far the oldest player making his way to Brazil this summer. The Colombian GK will be celebrating his 43rd birthday two days after his country’s second group match. Known very well to Galatasaray supporters where he played for 6 of his so far 24 year professional career, Mondragón is not expected to start in goal for the Colombian side as that position is surely to be filled by OGC Nice keeper David Ospina. Nonetheless, the man who spent time with 13 different clubs on 3 different continents will probably just be happy to sit on the bench and hope that José Pékerman has the heart to play him even for 1 minute, as this appearance would make Mondragón the oldest player to ever play in a World Cup tournament, leaping over Roger Milla’s record appearance in the 1994 tournament in the United States, when he was 42.