Thousands of mourners gathered in the Italian city of Vicenza Saturday for the funeral of former Italy forward Paolo Rossi, whose coffin was carried to the cathedral by his team mates from the 1982 World Cup-winning side.
Marco Tardelli, Antonio Cabrini, Giancarlo Antognoni, Alessandro Altobelli, Franco Causio, Fulvio Collovati and Giuseppe Bergomi were among the pallbearers. The event was shown live by state broadcaster Rai.
Rossi, who died Thursday at the age of 64 after an illness, returned from a two-year ban from football to score six goals, including a hat-trick in an epic 3-2 win over Brazil, as he led Italy to their third world title.
Before the funeral, Rossi’s coffin was placed at the Stadio Romeo Menti in Vicenza where supporters could lay flowers and pay their respects.
Rossi was topscorer in Serie B as he led Vicenza to promotion in 1976-77 and was also the leading scorer in Serie A the following season.
