From Newsgroup: rec.sport.soccer
On Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:10:50 -0700, MH <
MHnospam@ucalgary.ca> wrote:
On 2026-09-21 20:44, Lloo wrote:
On 21/09/2026 18:06, Werner Pichler wrote:
Futbolmetrix <futbolmetrix@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Wed, 18 Sep 2024 11:28:34 +0000, futbolmetrix@yahoo.com
(Futbolmetrix) wrote:
RIP Sandro Mazzola. Widely considered one of the best Italian players
of all time (where would he be if you compiled a list today?), and one >>>> of the symbols of the dominating Inter team of the 1960s. Famously
played 84 minutes in the 1970 WC final, drawing the ire of Italian
fans who would have wanted to see Rivera take the field.
Which is a bit strange, to not want someone
considered one of the best Italian players of all time to
play in a World Cup final?
Wouldn't that apply to Rivera too, though? Perhaps the ideal situation
for Italian fans would be having both together on the pitch (not sure if
that had already been tried, though).
I had always read the the coach did not believe they could play together
and preferred the harder working Mazzoloa, but by the knockout rounds he
was worried enough about Italy's lack of goals that he started
platooning them (stafeta ?) with Rivera coming on in the second half
when the opposition were tired. This worked OK against Germany and
Mexico (lots of second half and ET goals in those ones). However, the
coach did not bring on Rivera in the final until very late. >
Yes, that's exactly the case. The word "staffetta" literally means
"relay". Coach Valcareggi's decision to give up on it in the final
(Rivera came in for the last 6 minutes) is still one of the most
controversial decisions in Italian football history. It was probably
dictated by the fact that Rivera had played 30 extra minutes relative
to Mazzola just a few days before. To be honest, it probably wouldn't
have made much of a difference.
Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of interviews with Rivera following
Mazzola's death, with people asking him to comment on their rivalry
and the famous staffetta. Most of Rivera's answers were pretty
boilerplate ("we were rivals in our club teams, but we worked together
for the common goal when playing with the national team, bla bla
bla"), but one thing caught my attention. Rivera claimed that the
staffetta was just a Valcareggi invention during WC1970, and that both
before and after he and Mazzola had played together and there had
never been any problems.
Was that really the case, at least in major international tournaments?
WC66:
Italy - Chile 2-0 : Both Mazzola and Rivera started
USSR - Italy 1-0 : Mazzola started, Rivera on the bench
North Korea - Italy 1-0: Both Mazzola and Rivera started
Euro 1968
Italy - USSR 0-0 : Both Mazzola and Rivera started
Italy - Yugoslavia 1-1: Neither started
Italy - Yugoslavia 2-0: Mazzola started, Rivera on the bench
WC 1974
Italy - Haiti 3-1: Both Mazzola and Rivera started
Argentina - Italy 1-1: Both Mazzola and Rivera started
Poland - Italy 2-1: Mazzola started, Rivera benched
W-D-L record when both Mazzola and Rivera started: 2-2-1, GD 6-3
Mazzola started, Rivera on the bench: 1-0-2, GD 3-3
Neither started : 0-1-0 , GD 1-1
So, not exactly correct that they always played together. And Italy's
record when they both started was not exactly stellar...
Also worth mentioning that earlier in his career Mazzola was more of
an out and out forward, and became an attacking midfielder (so more
likely to be in competition with Rivera) later on.
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