paolo rossi the italian world cup winner who died at the age of 64 on thursday was among footballs biggest antiheroes he remains one of those unique symbols in sport who are always seen through the prism of the opponents they vanquished than for the greatness of their own achievementrossi may have helped italy to the world title in 1982 ending up as top scorer and best player but is remembered as the man who earned victory for the pragmatists and banished the romanticsread alsothe day paolo rossi changed brazilian football for gooditalians knew him affectionately as pablito in brazil he was known as the executionerwith no more than three touches of the ball they say paolo rossi changed the world of football for good and not necessarily in a good way it was the day football died socrates even said laterto be a memory forever riding on the tailcoats of another grander idea illusion if you like is a somewhat uncharitable assessment of the man it mattered little that rossi was one of the worlds top strikers through the late 1970s to 1986 a player who epitomized the italian school of striker says dutch maestro ruud gullit in his insightful how to watch football he had an assassins mentality like a feline predator lying in wait and all of a sudden pouncing if you only get one chance in a game you have to make it count failure isnt an option brazil gave rossi three chancesrossi was a silver ball winner for the secondbest player at the 1978 world cup as italy unnoticed finished fourth losing the playoff to brazil it would be the subsequent meeting between the two countries four years later often regarded as the greatest world cup match ever that rossi will forever be identified with simply as the man who tripped up socrates and his imperial stylists it was almost as if brazils departure and all the moral artistic triumph that was now scattered and in disarray was his fault even if it was his doing by rightfewer cultures in sport have more labels and clichs thrust upon them than italian football welldressed familyminded cowardly motherfixated bottompinching stilettowielding assassins as david winner memorably described them in those feet a sensual history of english football by being italian rossi was automatically expected to embody most of all that that he was an intelligent darting little player who could switch effortlessly from right wing to centre forward counted for little in delivering brazil the death blow he attained an even darker halo even his most unitalian appearance drawing more notice than his football with his deathly pallor almost skeletal frame and a very oversized shirt that hid any definition to his torso rossi was like the grim reaper writes stuart horsfield in 1982 brazil the glorious failurein truth however there was no sleight of hand or the dark arts that the italians are unfairly saddled with just a ruthless disciplined