Paolo Rossi’s teammates from Italy’s 1982 World Cup-winning squad spoke of their shock at his death on Thursday.

Rossi’s death aged 64 was announced in the early hours of Thursday by the Italian TV channel RAI Sport, for whom the former striker and star of that 1982 team had been working as a pundit.

I don’t know what to say, it’s a bolt out of the blue,” said Dino Zoff, Italy’s goalkeeper and captain in 1982. “We always had a great relationship with Paolo. He was kind, intelligent … We hadn’t heard from each other for a while and they told us something [was wrong], but I didn’t think it was serious. It’s difficult to understand.”

...The former Juventus and Milan player is widely regarded as one of the best forwards of all time and is most famous for his heroics at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. In the final he scored the opening goal as Italy defeated West Germany 3-1. Earlier in the tournament, in what is still considered one of the best World Cup performances, he scored a hat-trick to beat Brazil 3-2 and send one of the favourites out early.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/dec/10/paolo-rossi-italian-football-great-and-world-cup-winner-dies?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other