soft in the middle

[Notes: I used image to text converter to convert the scans to text but since the issue is from 1982 i had to clean up the text by adding the missing letters and stuff like that manually. so, there might be some mistakes. I also don’t speak Italian so this is google translated, but I attached the text version in Italian under the cut. The article is from La Stampa Sera; date: 12/06/1982; link to the original issue scans in source]

The Azzurri explain Rossi's blackout «He only speaks on the pitch»

PONTEVEDRA — — Paolo Rossi's press blackout continues. The player did not attend the traditional morning press conference yesterday either, leaving the parador "Casa del baron" for a short walk through the streets of Pontevedra, finally illuminated by a summer sun, but immediately closing himself in his room when the journalists arrived. And yet a bit of sun and fresh air would do his increasingly pale and emaciated face some good, but Paolo refuses to do so and has every intention of continuing his protest at least until the day of the first match. Then he will speak on the pitch, but his answers will have to be clear, unequivocal.

What worries the player, in addition to the difficult psychological situation, is his poor muscular power. Every morning he undergoes recovery therapy with the help of an electrostimulation machine that came from Germany, but doctors and masseurs turn the subject around and explain that Paolino is simply treating that annoying sciatica he had a few days ago.

The player does not provide any clarification because he goes downstairs at the end of the hour reserved for interviews and, finding his old energy again, quickly slips into the dining room where the chef, Lorenzo Lorini, serves him gigantic rare steaks to give him back an athlete's colour.

Rossi doesn't speak, so let's hear what his teammates say about him, about his delicate moment, especially those black and white players who know the striker better than others and can understand what is stirring in the soul of the player who, on the eve of the World Cup, opens a "case" that is not easy to solve. First of all, a premise: the two years spent by Rossi away from the playing fields inevitably condition his reactions. The always smiling and helpful boy that everyone knew, is now gone, in his place there is a more mature but also more distrustful and susceptible man.

Besides, in some cases it becomes difficult to keep one's nerves under control. A Milanese newspaper jokingly insinuated that in the absence of wives and girlfriends, Rossi and Cabrini, roommates, would find a way to "make do". Cabrini as "muchacha" and Rossi as "hombre".

Heavy jokes that made the Juventus full-back smile but that instead offended Rossi, who imposed a press silence on himself. Commented Causio, who tries to 'take on the role of Bettega of the situation, taking the side of his teammates and justifying their behavior «Paolo is rightly angry about an incident that offended him and has decided not to speak anymore. Now he's stepping aside, but I know he intends to answer everyone on the field. After all, after two years, a boy matures; if before he would have laughed at certain things, now instead he makes a drama out of them. So he has chosen to step out of the scene for the moment, to no longer offer anyone the chance to remain a character. If he has to be a protagonist, he will only be by playing».

Gentile justifies his teammate: With us he is calm - he explains - but you can see that he has felt the impact of an environment from which he had been excluded for too long. Above all he is not serene because he just wants to play as much as possible, also to eliminate the physical ailments that distress him.

Cabrini as a roommate, talks more than anyone else with Pablito. He tried to convince him to overcome certain mistrusts, not to worsen the situation with an absurd silence, but without results: "He prefers to hide," explains Antonio, "because too much noise has already been made around him, while Paolo prefers to stay away from excessive popularity. In this sense, he is a totally changed boy compared to a few years ago: he is fine, but he is less exuberant, more thoughtful. I believe that from a technical point of view he will be able to repeat Argentina, but we must stay close to him, all helping him to do something important. Rossi is not a real problem, believe me. At times he is really happy, just like someone who is about to become a father."

Tardelli tries to free ‘Rossi from too many responsibilities: «At the World Cup —he recalls—there is no player who saves the country, because I don't think that even Maradona alone will be able to make Argentina win. Paolo should therefore be left alone in this very important moment for him. He has the same problems as us with the difference that he has been away from big-time football for two years and must get used to everything again».

Finally the doctor's opinion. Professor Vecchiet follows Rossi day after day, treating the player physically but also psychologically. He admits:

"His main problem is to regain his competitive tone. Physically he is fine and his muscles are responding better and better. I must admit that during the conversations we have every day, I have noticed in him a sense of unease, a natural annoyance in having to deal with the impact with the press every day, so we need to understand him and leave him alone. At the right time, that is, on the pitch, he will react in the best way".

Bearzot's squad therefore lacks a psychologist. The World Cup is being prepared on the field, but also by helping the players morally. At this moment Rossi is undeniably disoriented, by returning he risks disappointing the Italian football team that instead looks anxiously at his once golden feet. If he were to fail too, the Caporetto Azzurri would be a foregone and inevitable fact.