In the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the team played beautifully, with talents such as Zico, Falcão and Sócrates, under the coaching of the late Telê Santana, considered one of the best Brazilian coaches of all time. They won their group in the first round group, then beat Argentina 3–1 in their first second-round match. The tournament favourites Brazil could make do with a draw, but a 3–2 defeat to Italy, in one of the classic games in finals history, eliminated them from the tournament. Paolo Rossi scored all three of Italy's goals. The selecao was defeated in the match they still refer to as the "Sarrias Disaster", a reference to the stadium's name, and Telê would be much blamed for using an attacking system while a 2-2 draw was enough. The 1982 squad is remembered as one of the greatest teams to be eliminated from the World Cup. After Brazil's quarter-final defeat in the 2006 World Cup, captain Cafu compared his squad to the 1982 team.
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The 'Greatest' team never to have won the World Cup! Totally Iconic! I was 12 years old when the 1982 World Cup Finals were held in Spain, in the June of that year. Being Scottish, the saying at the time was that the Scots were in the hardest group. The 'Group of Death' was the phrase. It came as no surprise that we lost, though some woeful defending didn't help matters. The Brazilians were simply out of this world, some of the best goals ever scored at a World Cup. When they went out, the tournament died after that. Their strip was so cool! The crew neck top suited the hot and humid conditions and was a cracker!
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