Today is Paolo Rossi’s birthday and it was his year in 1982 when Italy won the World Cup and he claimed the Ballon d’Or.

Rossi was born in Prato on 23 September in 1956. He signed for Juventus at the age of 16 before moving to Como on loan in 1975 where he would make his Serie A debut.

The following season, he moved to Vicenza where he really broke through. He helped fire the Biancorossi to promotion to Serie A as the top scorer in Serie B with 21 goals. The following year, he hit 24 and was the top scorer in Serie A as Vicenza came second, their highest-ever league finish.

After two excellent seasons, first with Vicenza and then Perugia, Rossi returned to Juventus in 1981. With the Bianconeri, he won the Scudetto twice, Coppa Italia once, one European Cup, one Cup Winners’ Cup and one European Supercup. His career came to an end at Verona in the 1986/87 season.

His Italy career began on 21 December 1977 in a match where Italy won 0-1 against Belgium in Liege. He scored his first Italy goal on his third appearance and it was the equaliser in the 2-1 win over France at the 1978 World Cup. At the tournament in Argentina, he scored four goals but true glory followed four years later in Spain.

Rossi was one of the true stars as Bearzot’s side won the cup. His hat-trick against Brazil remains an unforgettable moment as he hit his first goals in the competition. After, he hit a brace against Poland in the semi-final and the opening goal in the final against West Germany. His fantastic year was topped off by the Ballon d’Or win.

His final Italy match was against China on 11 May 1986. After, he was called up for the World Cup in Mexico but he didn’t make any appearances. At the end of his career, he made 48 Azzurri appearances and scored 20 goals.

In January 2017, he was named a member of the Italian Football Hall of Fame.