For Brazilians, only the 1950 World Cup is more traumatic than the 1982 World Cup, hosted by Spain.
The World Cup in Brazil went into football history books for coining the expression Maracanazo, or the Maracanã blow, referring to the 2-1 defeat suffered by the hosts to Uruguay in a packed-out Maracana Stadium.
The 1982 World Cup in Spain was held 32 years later, and it would forever be remembered in Brazil as a result of the match labeled by the national press as the ‘Sarriá Stadium Tragedy.’
Sarria Stadium Tragedy
On 5 July 1982, at the Sarriá Stadium in Barcelona, over forty thousand people watched Italy’s 3-2 victory over Brazil of Zico, Falcão, Sócrates, Junior, Cerezo, Éder, and so many others.
Brazil, managed by Tele Santana, by that point, was the tournament’s sensation. They had beaten the Soviet Union, Scotland, New Zealand, and Maradona’s Argentina, always employing an offensive, attacking style.
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Against the Italians, a draw would suffice to get the Brazilians through to the semi-final. However, no one counted on Paolo Rossi’s redemption. In 1980, the Italian sports court prosecuted the center forward for match-fixing and illegal betting as a result of the so-called Totonero scandal.
He got a three-year suspension, which was reduced to two months before the World Cup, meaning Rossi was allowed to return just in time for the World Cup.
Italy only managed some uninspiring performances in the first round of the 1982 World Cup in Spain: three draws against Poland, Peru, and Cameroon. The Azzurra only qualified for the next round because they scored one more goal than Cameroon.
Off the pace, as he had not played for a while, Paolo Rossi did not score in the first three games. After that, however, their performance would improve, and they would win the tournament.
1982 World Cup New Format
The 12th edition of the FIFA World Cup had a new format. Instead of 16 teams, the tournament had expanded to 24 teams. In addition, the first round consisted of a round-robin group stage, with six groups with four teams.
The top two teams in each group would qualify. In the second round, the twelve teams were divided into four groups of three. The top team would allow for the semi-finals.
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In addition, six teams took part in the World Cup for the first time: Algeria, Cameroon, El Salvador, Honduras, Kuwait, and New Zealand. Algeria surprised everyone in the first match by beating Euro holders West Germany 2-1.
1982 World Cup Conspiracy
The Algerians also beat Chile but ended up being eliminated on goal difference the next day, when West Germany beat Austria 1-0 in a very controversial match, as a result, qualified both neighboring countries.
The match was so controversial that in following tournaments, the last matches in the group stage started being played simultaneously.
Cameroon lacked luck. Despite being undefeated, the Africans were eliminated in the first round on goal difference. Honduras also surprised by drawing with hosts Spain, whose performance at the 1982 World Cup was rather disappointing.
El Salvador was the first country to concede ten goals in a FIFA World Cup match, losing 10-1 to Hungary.
Rhett is an Australian-born, globe trotter who is a UEFA ‘A’ Licence Soccer Coach. With his family, he has traveled and coached soccer in more than 30 countries, while attending World Cups, European Championships, and some of the biggest local derbies in the world!