“Campioni del Mondo! Campioni del Mondo! Campioni del Mondo!”. If Ken Wolstenholme’s “they think it’s all over” has achieved cult status in England, Nando Martinelli’s breathless exhortation – which means Champions of the World - is what Italians remember most fondly of their World Cup success of 1982.

With three World Cup wins and a total of five final appearances the Italians are the most successful nation in the history of the competition after Brazil and Germany, a fact that is often overlooked because their first two successes came in the 1930s when the tournament was played in Europe meaning the participation of watered down South American sides.

As most other dictators, Benito Mussolini was quick to latch on to the notion that sport could be a forceful propaganda tool, not only to alienate his country’s own citizens but also to portray the image of a strong political ideology to the rest of the world.

Fittingly, the Italians were led by a strict disciplinarian in Vittorio Pozzo, a well-travelled man with a fascination for linguistic studies he was one of the founding member of Torino Calcio who had led Italy’s football team at the 1912 and 1924 Olympics before settling for a job as the PR officer at Pirelli which is where FIGC president Leandro Arpinati found him and coaxed him into accepting the tough job ahead of the 1934 World Cup.

This was to be played at home and, naturally, Mussolini expected to win. Italy, however, struggled. In the quarter finals they needed a replay (played the next day) to overcome Spain after the initial game had ended in a 2-2 draw. They then met Austria’s ‘Wunderteam’ in a tense affair which the Italians won 1-0, a highly controversial match with political undertones settled by an early goal by Argentine Guaita.

Czechoslovakia had won the other semi-final beating Germany 3-1 and they looked set to win the competition when they took the lead through Puc twenty minutes from time. With Mussolini, who had called the nation to a standstill for this final, looking on stone-faced in view of this unexpected result, Raimondo Orsi scored the equaliser twelve minutes later before Angelo Schiavio hit the winner in extra-time saving both Italy’s pride and, most probably, their own lives as well.

Four years later, with FIFA opting to hold the tournament in France resulting in another forfeit by most of the South American countries, Italy qualified automatically as holders the first time that this privilege was granted.

They needed extra-time to get past Norway in the first round, but then seemed to breeze through the rest of the tournament. Home side France were beaten 3-1 in the quarters, Brazil – whose coach Adheniar Pimenta blundered when he resting top scorer Leonidas – 2-1 in the semi-final and then Hungary 4-2 in the final.

It was the be the last final before the Second World War where Dr Ottorino Barassi, the Italian federation is said to have kept the World Cup in a shoe box under his bed for the duration of the conflict.

Although there is no doubting that Italy’s two successes were based on some exceptional players like Sandro Piola and Giuseppe Meazza, the rumours of political pressure and interference. Indeed, after the War manager Pozzo was not only removed from his duties as national coach but also had to suffer the ignominy of having the federation expunge him from the list of winners due to his reported sympathy to the fascist regime. He died in isolation in 1968 and his reputation has never been cleared, with the rumours being perpetuated by the refusal to name in his honour the new Turin stadium built for the 1990 World Cup.

The years following that win were hardly memorable for Italian football with their defeat to North Korea in 1966 being what most remember from that period.

In 1970, however, they made their comeback. They hadn’t started as one of the favourites and their tournament confirmed this when they struggled to beat Sweden 1-0 before settling for a goal-less draw against Uruguay. But the taunts on their reliance on the catenaccio system were promptly blown away in the quarter final when they beat home nation Mexico 4-1 before taking part in one of the most memorable games of World Cup history where they finally overcame Germany 4-3 after extra time.

In the final against everyone’s favourites Brazil they went behind to a Pele’ goal but Roberto Boninsegna equalised just before half-time. Tired by their exertion in the semi, however, they couldn’t hold out and Brazil scored three more goals in the second half to clinch the title.

Another decade of anonymity followed before the Italians once more made their mark. Yet the 1982 World Cup hadn’t started out in the best of manners for them what with a betting scandal seeing a number of players suspended – including Paolo Rossi whose suspension was cut short so that he could play in the World Cup – and coach Enzo Bearzot forbidding the players to talk to the media following their harsh criticism when the Italians struggled to get three draws in their first round group.

They got through, however, and pushed on by the motivational powers of Bearzot defeated first Argentina and then one of the most talented Brazil sides in their history 3-2 in another epic match. Having overcome that obstacle, it was all downhill with an easy 2-0 win over Poland in the semi-final and a surprisingly un-problematic match against West Germany.

Antonio Cabrini became the first man to miss a penalty in the final before Paolo Rossi – the tournament’s top scorer – put Italy ahead before Marco Tardelli (who then launched into that celebration) and Alessandro Altobelli put them in command. Paul Breitner’s late goal was little consolation for Germany.

Four years later, Italy limped out of the tournament to France but had high hopes to win again in 1990 when they organised the World Cup. Thanks to the emerging brilliance of Roberto Baggio and the goals from the Sicilian Toto Schillaci they romped to the semi-final finding very little difficulty. They were favourites to beat a seemingly uninspired Argentina in Naples but after Schillaci had put them through, they allowed Claudio Caniggia to equalise thanks to Walter Zenga’s error when coming out for the ball.

This seemed to sweep away all their confidence and their subsequent play was largely unimaginative. With Argentina not eager to press forward, the penalties were inevitable. This is where the Italians started the trend of freezing at the shoot-out with Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena’s kicks being saved by Sergio Goycochea. The Italians thus had to settle for third place after they beat England.

Penalties would again be their undoing in the 1994 World Cup where misses by Franco Baresi, Daniele Massaro and Roberto Baggio in the final shoot-out gifted the cup to Brazil. It was particularly hard for Baggio who had been in inspirational form for the Italians and perhaps the prime reason for them getting so far.

Baggio was still there in 1998 when another penalty shoot-out loss saw them bow out to eventual winners France before their surprise defeat to South Korea in the second round four years ago.