A match for the ages

As far as World Cup matches go, Italy versus Brazil at the 1982 FIFA World Cup™ in Spain is widely regarded as one of the best ever. For Israeli referee Abraham Klein, it holds very special memories – not least because for a long time, he did not even know if he would be officiating at the tournament at all, for highly personal reasons. As he recalls the game in an interview at the FIFA Museum, the memories come flooding back to the 88-year-old former top referee. By guest author Alex Feuerherdt When Abraham Klein arrives at the interview in the FIFA Museum, he is in the middle of a very busy day of interviews with the media, a sure sign that interest in the Israeli former elite referee has not waned in the slightest. In the evening, the museum is due to screen the Italian film 1982 Italy-Brazil, produced by Alessandro Della Villa. The documentary looks back at the eponymous match in Spain 40 years ago, which many still consider to be one of the best matches in World Cup history, and one figure looms large in the story: the man in charge of proceedings, Abraham Klein, who has come to Zurich for the screening with his wife Bracha. After the film, which will have its Swiss premiere that day, he will talk with Della Villa – and with Cristiano Burgio, who plays him in the film. Although now in his late eighties, age seems to have withered Klein not a jot, as he is just as wiry and slim as he was in his days as the man in black: “I have kept the same weight and figure over all these years,” is how he puts it. His English is flawless, and when he talks about his career and experiences as a referee, it is clear that he is a born storyteller.

Klein was in Rome on 5 July, 40 years to the day after the legendary match between Italy and Brazil in the old Sarrià Stadium in Barcelona, which the Azzurri won 3-2 in what was a major shock. All three Italian goals were plundered by Paolo Rossi, who passed away on 9 December 2020. An exhibition in Rome was dedicated to him and attended by many of his former team-mates. “All I could think about was my son” In the early 1980s, Klein was one of the most famous referees in the world, having already officiated at the 1970 and 1978 World Cups. At 48, however, it was clear that Spain would represent his swansong on the global refereeing stage. His was one of the first names on the list when it came to handling big, important matches, including at the 1982 competition, “as well as Nicolae Rainea from Romania and Károly Palotai from Hungary, in particular,” he remembers. But when he met up with the other referees in Madrid a week before the opening match to receive instructions from the Referees Committee and complete his final preparations, he got a phone call out of the blue from his wife at the time. In 1982, Israel was at war with Lebanon, and their son Amit had been conscripted by the Israeli army. “She told me Amit was on a mission in Lebanon. People were getting killed and injured every day, and we hadn’t heard a thing from him. I was really worried,” says Klein.

Although he attended seminars in Madrid and tried to concentrate, his thoughts were understandably elsewhere. “I wasn’t able to focus because all I could think about was Amit. So I began to wonder whether I was in the right frame of mind to referee a World Cup match, which the teams had extensively prepared for. I had often refereed past and present world champions – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany – and expected to be given a match with one of these teams. And I wondered whether I would be able to focus 100% on my job.” Assistant referee and fourth official only to begin with Klein finally made up his mind and asked FIFA Referees Committee chairman Artemio Franchi if they could have a chat. “I told him, ‘there is a problem with my son. I know you trust me, but I can’t focus 100% on the job and I don’t want to let you or the teams down.’” He adds: “If you make a serious mistake, you will forever be remembered for that refereeing error.” As an example, he mentions the infamous “Hand of God” goal by Diego Maradona against England at the 1986 World Cup, an offence that the referee failed to spot. “I cannot afford to make a serious error at my final tournament that people will associate with me forever more,” Klein told Franchi, asking the latter if he could be initially deployed only as an assistant referee and fourth official. Franchi agreed, but only on condition that Klein would take charge of a match by the time the second round began. Klein replied: “As soon I have word that my son is alive, I won’t call you – I’ll come straight to your room.”

Long-awaited news that his son was alive After Klein ran the line at the Italy v. Peru match, which was refereed by the German Walter Eschweiler, he finally received the news that he longed to hear in the form of a letter from his son sent to the hotel. Still visibly moved by the news today, Klein explains what was in the letter: “Father, I’m alive. We’ve watched some World Cup matches in Lebanon. When a World Cup is on, there is often a break in hostilities. We’ve got small TVs that run on batteries. I haven’t seen you referee yet. I understand why, but I’m alive and now you can get going. We want to see you take a match, preferably the final.” Klein ran straight to Franchi’s hotel room and knocked on his door, just as he had promised to do. “Dr Franchi opened the door and saw the tears in my eyes. I said to him: ‘My son’s alive. Now I can referee a match at the tournament.’ He shook my hand. At the end of the first round, the Referees Committee selected the referees for the next round. I was given a match in Group C, which had the best teams in the world at that time – Brazil, Italy and Argentina.” Klein was appointed for the third and last group match, the teams for which were not known at that stage. Italy met Argentina in the first game, with Brazil due to meet the losers in the second. It was widely expected that Italy would be that team, as the Squadra Azzurra had drawn all three of their first-round matches and Argentina had won twice since losing their first match to Belgium. Following this logic, the third and final encounter would see Brazil face Argentina. Shock result But the first match failed to proceed as anticipated: Argentina were beaten 2-1 by Italy and consequently had to beat Brazil to progress. They failed, losing 3-1: the 1978 world champions were out. Klein’s first match was therefore Brazil v. Italy, the prize being a place in the semi-final. A draw would be enough for the highly favoured Brazilians, who many considered to be the best team in the world.

“To tell you the truth, when Italy beat Argentina, I wasn’t happy,” recalls Klein. “Not because I favoured Argentina: I have never favoured a team in my life. It was just that every referee dreams of taking charge of a match between Brazil and Argentina. It’s simply a huge battle. I always wanted to referee games that had the potential to be difficult and challenging. No one remembers matches that are easy to referee. It was my last tournament, and I said to my assistants: ‘I don’t think anyone will remember this game because Brazil will win it 5-0 or 6-0.’” Even when Paolo Rossi put Italy 1-0 up with just five minutes gone in front of 44,000 spectators at Sarrià Stadium, Klein did not think it was anything out of the ordinary: “It reminded me of the 1970 World Cup, when Czechoslovakia took the lead against Brazil, and Brazil went on to win 4-1.” Sure enough, Socrates equalised a few minutes later. However, when Rossi hit his second after 25 minutes, he realised that this was different: “The match was not going as expected. I knew it would go down in history as a classic World Cup game, it was different, special.” A flash of inspiration towards the end of the match Although Falcão drew Brazil level again in the 68th minute, Rossi notched his third seven minutes later. In a bid to avoid an early (for Brazil) exit, the Seleção proceeded to lay siege to the opposition’s goal, which Klein says was akin to “an invasion of Italy’s penalty area”. Instead of taking up his usual position in the penalty area, he decided to move closer to the goal line as well as to the Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff for the remainder of the match so that he could better see if the ball crossed the goal line or there was a foul on Zoff.

It was a moment of inspiration that paid off: “Just before the end, Oscar headed powerfully towards goal, Zoff saved and clutched the ball under his body on the line. My assistant was level with the goal line, and of course I trusted him, but there were many players between him and Zoff, so he didn’t have a clear view.” Relying on all his years of experience, not to mention his intuition, Klein was in the right place at a decisive moment in the game. When he was in Rome on 5 July this year, he bumped into Zoff. “The ball really wasn’t over the line,” insisted the former elite goalie. “Of course it wasn’t,” responded Klein. Italy went on to reach the final, where they beat West Germany 3-1. The match was officiated by Arnaldo Cézar Coelho, so at least one Brazilian was in the final. Klein was and remains in full agreement with the appointment: “He was the best referee at the tournament.” According to the competition regulations, in the event of a draw, there would have been a replay. And who would FIFA have appointed as the referee in such a scenario? Why, one Abraham Klein, who ran the line in Madrid for Coelho. At half-time, with the score at 0-0, he joked with the referee: “Please make sure the match ends in a draw, so that I can referee a final, too.” It did not turn out that way and there was no falling out between the pair. On the contrary: “We’re still friends today,” he says.

<h4>Click here to read more about the Football meets Cinema event with Abraham Klein earlier this year at the FIFA Museum. </h4>