Enzo Bearzot's Italy: Part 3: The Slow and Painful Demise of Bearzot and His Boys

Euphoria swept over Italy after they won the 1982 World Cup in Spain. A 44-year drought was broken and the team went home in the private jet of Italian president Sandro Pertini. One of the most iconic images after the tournament is of Coach Enzo Bearzot playing cards with several of his players on the flight back home.

After the excitement died down, the decline of 'Bearzot's Boys' began, and it was an embarrassing decline. The need to rejuvenate the team was apparent, but Bearzot persisted with the heroes in Spain out of loyalty.

Italy was drawn in Group 5 of the 1984 European Championship qualifiers with Czechoslovakia, Cyprus, Romania, and Sweden. The Romanians and Swedes had already played twice before the Azzurri faced Czechoslovakia in November 1982.

Alessandro Altobelli gave the Italians the lead in the first half, but the Czechoslovaks equalized through Jiří Sloup, who scored his only goal for his country. Italy regained the lead when Ján Kapko deflected a Giampiero Marini strike into his own net in the second half, but Pavel Chaloupka leveled the score and both sides had to settle for a 2-2 draw in Milan.