Sunday, January 11, 2026
And It's Three, Part 3
In the wake of the 1970 World Cup, Nando Martellini succeeded his much-admired colleague Nicolò Carosio as the undisputed voice of Italian football. His was the commentary that accompanied the azzurri's fortunes from then on, from the promise of the early seventies through the lean period in the middle of that decade, as the generation of Riva, Rivera, Mazzola and Facchetti came to a close. Then into the Enzo Bearzot era, with a new crop of young players promising much but falling at the penultimate hurdle in 1978, and disappointing their home fans in the 1980 Nations Cup.
Martellini's bread and butter, of course, was the domestic game and the Italian clubs' forays into Europe, and his commentary in these matches was just as steady, informed, witty and memorable.
Before we get to the triumph of the 1982 World Cup, it's worth quoting a few of the dry witticisms for which Martellini was so well-known. Delivered with barely a quiver in the voice to distinguish the remarks from the ongoing, unfailingly accurate play-by-play, they must have made the viewers doubt their own ears at times. But, as a colleague put it, Martellini always knew what he was doing.
In 1973, in a friendly against Brazil in Rome, Fabio Capello scored the second goal in a 2-0 win for the Italians. The replay showed, however, that the ball had struck the bar and landed well over a foot outside the goalmouth. Martellini: "As you can see from the replay, the goal was not an entirely obvious one."
1978. A Coppa Italia match between Inter and Monza, in which the Inter midfielder Giuseppe Pavone (the surname means "peacock") was replaced by the veteran Claudio Merlo (whose surname means "blackbird"). Martellini: "And Pavone goes off, Merlo comes on. Inter's ornithological situation remains unchanged."
Also 1978. Juventus are struggling to overcome the naggingly effective offside trap of the Belgian side Bruges in the European Cup semi-final. The bianconeri have already been caught offside countless times, and when the Belgians surge forward again and the whistle goes, Martellini has his comment ready. "Offside. Just for a change."
It was the 1982 World Cup, and the final in particular, that turned Martellini from a beloved figure into something of an icon. He had called Italy's games in the first round of the tournament with gently veiled frustration, declaring after the plodding draw with Cameroon that the Italian performances in the second half of the games had been "questionable". It was a regular gripe of Martellini's; after their loss in a Nations Cup qualifier to Holland in late 1974, Martellini pointedly remarked that Italy had only shown "45 minutes' worth of heart and legs".
That was all to change in the second half of the tournament, when Italy suddenly came to life. Beating first Argentina, Maradona and all, then the dazzling Brazilian side, then a surprisingly listless Poland in the semi-final, Italy reached the final against West Germany in Madrid against all predictions.
Martellini began his call of the final by acknowledging that he was in a state of "great emotion", and his commentary was certainly a little more charged than usual. The play-by-play was as accurate and comprehensive as ever. But the pain was quite evident in his voice when Antonio Cabrini sent Italy's first-half penalty wide of the post.
This time, ironically, it was in the second half that Italy took hold of the game. Paolo Rossi scored another of his poacher's goals; Marco Tardelli lunged to whack a cross-shot past Toni Schumacher, before wheeling away in a famous celebration. And Sandro Altobelli scored on a breakaway to make it...three. More on that in a moment.
At the conclusion of the game, Martellini simply cried "World Champions!" three times. But, as always, he knew what he was doing. It was Italy's third conquest of the World Cup (as he reminded the viewers straight afterwards). Three times World Champions.
Personally, I think that there was even more to it than that. When Altobelli slotted the ball past Schumacher on 81 minutes, the game was clearly beyond the Germans. Martellini could have commemorated the goal in many ways, but he chose to exclaim, "And it's three! And it's three!" Three goals...or three World Cups? I believe the ambiguity was quite deliberate.
What followed his initial celebratory proclamation of Italy's third world crown was pure Martellini. In perfectly rounded phrases, he praised the qualities of every Italian player, explaining why they were worthy of being a world champion. He even included the bit-part players, noting their achievements. He saved his best for the 40-year-old keeper, Dino Zoff; "I don't know whether we should admire him more as a champion or as a man."
It was a long-awaited triumph for Italian football, and the culmination of a wonderful career behind the microphone for Martellini. Perhaps fittingly, it was his last World Cup. At 64, he was all set for duty in Mexico in 1986, but he fell very ill with altitude sickness just prior to the event, and had to head home. He stuck to the domestic scene from then on. But his place in the hearts of Italian fans was never lost.
And that same popularity had an interesting side-effect. More in Part 4.
