page_title: Gianni Rivera
section_title: 1970 World Cup
hierarchical_section_title: Gianni Rivera / International career / 1970 World Cup
caption_attribution_description: English&#x3a;&#32; Italian footballers Sandro Mazzola (left) and Gianni Rivera (right) before the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifying game v Luxembourg at Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, 31 March 1973. Italy won the match 5-0Italiano&#x202f;&#x3a;&#32; Genova, stadio Luigi Ferraris, 31 marzo 1973. Sandro Mazzola (a sinistra) e Gianni Rivera (a destra) con la maglia dell'Italia, prima della sfida contro il Lussemburgo (5-0) valevole per le qualificazioni al campionato mondiale di calcio 1974.
context_page_description: Giovanni "Gianni" Rivera is an Italian politician and former footballer who played as a midfielder. During his career as a footballer he was mostly utilised as an attacking midfielder.
  Dubbed Italy's "Golden Boy" by the media, he played the majority of his club career with Italian side A.C. Milan, after beginning his career with hometown club Alessandria in 1959. After joining Milan in 1960, he enjoyed a highly successful career in domestic and European football, winning three Serie A titles and two European Cups, among several other trophies, and also serving as the team's captain for twelve seasons.
  At international level, he represented Italy 60 times between 1962 and 1974, scoring 14 goals, and took part at four World Cups. Rivera is widely remembered for scoring the decisive goal in Italy's 4–3 extra-time win over West Germany in the semi-final of the 1970 World Cup, leading the team to final, only to suffer a 4–1 defeat against Brazil, however. Rivera was also a member of the first Italian side ever to win the European Football Championship in 1968, on home soil, and represented Italy at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, helping the team to a fourth-place finish.
context_section_description: Rivera subsequently played with the Squadra Azzurra (Italian national team) in the 1970 FIFA World Cup hosted by Mexico. At the prime of his career, much was expected of him throughout the tournament; after a slow start, his excellent form in the knock-out stages saw him become Italy's star player throughout the competition, as they reached the final, only to lose out 4–1 to a Pelé-led Brazil side. Prior to the tournament, the Italian team was thrown into turmoil following Pietro Anastasi's last-minute injury, which ruled the striker out of the competition; Roberto Boninsegna and Pierino Prati were called up in his place, while Giovanni Lodetti, who was Rivera's midfield partner and defensive foil at Milan, was dropped from the team; as a result, Rivera was at the centre of controversy when he accused the Italian national team supervisor Walter Mandelli of leading a media campaign against him, and of also wanting to exclude him from the team, which only put his place on the team in further jeopardy. Furthermore, the Italian coach at the 1970 World Cup Finals, Ferruccio Valcareggi, believed that Rivera and his fellow right-sided playmaker teammate Sandro Mazzola could not play together on the same field, as they played in similar positions for rival clubs. Although Rivera was arguably the more famous of the two stars at the time, as the reigning European Footballer of the Year, Valcareggi elected to start Mazzola, due to his pace, stamina, superior work-rate, and stronger physical and athletic attributes, which he deemed more important in the tournament, and Rivera missed out on Italy's opening two group matches, with his absence being blamed on "stomach troubles"; he made his first appearance of the tournament in Italy's final group match, a 0–0 draw against Israel on 11 June, coming on for Angelo Domenghini. Due to Rivera's frequent arguments with the Italian coaching staff over his limited playing time, his mentor Rocco had to be flown in to prevent him from leaving the squad.
  By the second round of the tournament, however, the Italian offence failed to sparkle. Although Rivera's playing style involved less running, physicality, tactical discipline, and work off the ball than Mazzola's, and made Italy less compact and more vulnerable defensively, it also allowed his team to control possession in midfield, due to Rivera's ability to dictate the play with his passing moves, provide accurate long passes, and create more chances for the team's strikers. When Mazzola came down with a stomach flu, and struggled to regain full match fitness for the knock-out round, Valcareggi therefore devised a controversial solution in order to play both players and get the best out of their abilities: the quicker and more hard-working Mazzola would start in the first half, while Rivera would come on at halftime, when the opposing teams would begin to tire, and the tempo of the game had slowed down, giving him more time to orchestrate goal scoring opportunities; this strategy was later dubbed the "staffetta" (relay). With this strategy, Rivera helped Italy defeat the hosts Mexico 4–1 in the quarterfinal on 14 June, scoring a goal, and also setting up both of Luigi Riva's goals, forming a notable offensive partnership with the Cagliari striker throughout the knock-out stages of the tournament.
  In the semi-final against West Germany, at the Estadio Azteca on 17 June, Rivera played a major role in one of the most entertaining games in World Cup history, a match which was later dubbed The Game of the Century. Following a 1–1 draw after regulation time, Rivera's long passes led to Tarcisio Burgnich's and Luigi Riva's goals in extra-time, although he was later also at fault for Germany's equaliser; while defending against a German set-piece, Rivera briefly stepped away from the post, leaving it unmarked, and allowing Gerd Müller to score his second goal and tie the match at 3–3 in the 110th minute, which famously led Italy's temperamental goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi to berate Rivera for the error. A minute later, however, Rivera started an attack
caption: Rivera playing for Italy alongside Sandro Mazzola; the two players would be involved in manager Ferruccio Valcareggi's infamous "Staffetta" policy at the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
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