He went on to emulate Oreiller's golden hat-trick, at the Grenoble Winter Olympics in 1968, and his pursuit of speed and glory once saw him complete a trial race on one leg, legend has it, having broken the other one en route to the finish line.

CNN: Val d'Isere: The hidden home of skiing's 'madmen'

Italy ended their long wait for a third title in 1982 in Spain, recovering from a slow start to beat favorites Brazil in a thrilling second-round match in which striker Paolo Rossi scored a hat-trick on his way to winning the top scorer's Golden Boot.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS