10 years after the farewell to Bearzot, where they are the 1982 World Champions

Ten years ago – December 21, 2010 – Enzo Bearzot left. Italy coach world champion in the eternal summer of 1982. The «Vecio» was 83 years old. All his boys were at his funeral. Moved, heartbroken, grateful to that man of another time, who had defended them against everyone and who had taught them to go out into the world with their backs straight. There was also Paolo Rossi, Bearzot’s favorite godson, the center-forward on whom no Italian – on the eve of that World Cup in Spain – said he was willing to bet.

Nobody, except Bearzot. He was right.

Paolo Rossi left at dawn on 9 December, the second blue to leave us after the tragic end of Gaetano Scirea, in September 1989. That group, those old boys, have remained friends nearly forty years later. They are still a team, they showed by greeting Pablito. They have a common chat, they hang out as soon as they can. Simply: they love each other, like someone who has had the privilege of living a fabulous adventure together. But what are those champions doing today? We investigated, trying to re-tie the blue thread of that team that has entered the history of football.

Dino Zoff, the captain of the national team, now 78 years old, lives in Rome, enjoys his grandchildren, follows football from afar after his last adventure for a short period at Fiorentina, fifteen years ago. The blue nursery rhyme continued with Gentile and Cabrini. Claudio Gentile lives in Como, after six winning years at the helm of the blue Under 21 team (2000-2006) he was inexplicably out of the loop. He consoles himself with the bicycle, his great passion. Antonio Cabrini, the Bell’Antonio, until two years ago coached the women’s national football team, his television appearances are not uncommon.

Lele Oriali, celebrated by Ligabue’s “Una vita da mediano”, is the manager accompanying Inter and the Azzurri national team. Fulvio Collovati, Marco Tardelli and Alessandro «Spillo» Altobelli are popular commentators on RAI, Beppe Bergomi, the “Uncle”, at the time was the youngest of all and today is one of the well-known faces of Sky. Bruno Conti directs the youth sector of Rome, Franco Baresi is honorary vice president of Milan, so Giancarlo Antognoni has a managerial role in Fiorentina: they were flags of their respective clubs once, they are still today.

Daniele Massaro also works as Milan’s ambassador in the world, while Franco Selvaggi, the famous “Spadino”, has opened a football school in his home, near Matera. Ivano Bordon, Zoff’s reserve, worked for a long time as a goalkeeper trainer in Marcello Lippi’s staff (he was also at the World Cup he won in Germany in 2006) and recently wrote his autobiography. Francesco «Ciccio» Graziani has kept his nice verve and comments on football on radio and television; as well as Franco Causio, who remained to live in Udine, where he also opened a sports shop. Giampiero Marini known as Malik he stopped coaching about twenty years ago and today – retired – he continues to devote himself to his great passion: the guitar, without forgetting his recent past as a financial broker.

Pietro Vierchowod – after his experiences in Hungary and Albania – is a coach waiting for a new challenge. Giuseppe Dossena has just nominated (losing) for the presidency of AIC, the Italian Football Association: he will continue to bring his “political” experience to our football.