More than three decades after Italy's heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat in the 1994 World Cup final, goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca admits that the full weight of that loss only truly landed years later.

"At first, when you lose a final like that, it doesn't fully sink in," Pagliuca told FourFourTwo. "You tell yourself you lost and life goes on. The real awareness comes 20 or 30 years later, when you realise what you actually lost. Those are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities."

A tournament of extremes

For Pagliuca, the 1994 World Cup in the United States was a rollercoaster of highs and lows. The former Sampdoria and Inter Milan goalkeeper made unwanted history in the group stage when he became the first custodian ever sent off at a World Cup, receiving a red card against Norway.

"It felt like a stab to the heart," he recalled. "I'd gone to the World Cup with big ambitions and that red card could have cost me my place in the starting XI."

With Pagliuca suspended, backup Luca Marchegiani stepped in — and impressed — during Italy's matches against Mexico and Nigeria in the round of 16. Before the quarter-final against Spain, assistant coach Carlo Ancelotti and goalkeeping coach Pietro Carmignani visited Pagliuca's room to confirm he would reclaim his place — and asked him to keep it quiet.

"During dinner, Luca asked if I'd heard anything. I said no, even though I already knew," Pagliuca said with a laugh. "We still laugh about it today. Luca was a great keeper and a funny guy."

The post that changed everything

Italy advanced to the final against Brazil, and Pagliuca found himself at the centre of one of the tournament's most memorable moments. After a Mauro Silva shot slipped through his hands and struck the upright before rebounding back to him, Pagliuca kissed his glove and tapped the post — a gesture that became iconic.

"That moment changed my life," he admitted. "If that ball had gone in, we would have lost the final because of my mistake. I'd have been scarred forever. Just think about what happened to Walter Zenga during the 1990 World Cup semi-final — that World Cup should have been ours."

"That post saved my life, and my future. Today, everybody remembers the kiss to the post and not the fumble. I was lucky — it came down to a matter of inches."

The sting of defeat

Italy ultimately fell to Brazil on penalties in the Pasadena final, a defeat whose sting, Pagliuca says, sharpened with the passage of time rather than fading.

"Look at Italy's 2006 team: they're all heroes today because they won on penalties. We lost and history remembers us differently," he said. "Life can change in a matter of seconds — or centimetres."