World Cup winner and former Italian international Paolo Rossi has died aged 64, his family says.
Rossi led the Azzuri to victory in the 1982 World Cup and passed away following a long illness according to the Italian press.
Rossi was the top goalscorer and won ‘Player of the Tournament’ at the ’82 World cup and is most remembered for his hat-trick which eliminated favourites Brazil from the tournamnet in a match many fans see as one of the greatest in World Cup history.
He almost missed the tournament after being banned from football for two years for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal.
The 64-year-olds death was announced by his wife Federica Cappelletti on Instagram when she posted a picture of them together with the words “Per sempre” (“forever” in Italian).
His cause of his death was not mentioned and the Italian media are reporting that he had a long illness.