Two centuries of Baggio brilliance
Friday, 19 March 2004
By Paolo Menicucci
A missed penalty against Brazil was Baggio's darkest hour
On 10 May 1987, the 20-year-old Roberto Baggio scored his first-goal in Serie
A with a wonderful free-kick to help AC Fiorentina gain an important point
against Diego Maradona's SSC Napoli in the fight to avoid relegation. On 14
March 2004, Baggio dribbled past AC Parma defender Matteo Ferrari to score
his 200th with a precise shot and level the scores at 2-2 for Brescia Calcio
at the Ennio Tardini stadium.
Major milestone
For any player, it would have been a great goal, but for the 37-year-old
former Italian international, it was just a little bit special. The two sets
of fans united to give the striker a standing ovation as he celebrated and
there was little doubt that the whole of Italy was delighted that one of its
favourite footballing sons had reached such a milestone.
Baggio won the 1995 scudetto with Juventus
'I never stopped dreaming'
"Scoring 200 goals in Serie A was one of my biggest dreams," said Baggio. "I
never stopped dreaming. I always set myself targets throughout my career and
now, at 37, I can live this moment of great joy." Baggio is only the fifth
player to top 200 goals, joining Silvio Piola, Gunnar Nordhal, Josè Altafini
and Giuseppe Meazza.
Great spirit
Born in Caldogno, north of Vicenza in north-east Italy, in February 1967,
Baggio - the sixth of eight sons - is loved not just for his fantastic skills
but for the great courage that helped him to overcome adversity during his
fabulous career.
Florence riots
Certainly, he has had his share of bad times, starting with the knee injury
which kept him out of action at Fiorentina for nearly two years. That was
followed by the riots in Florence that greeted his move to Juventus FC and
the barracking from the Delle Alpi terraces that followed his refusal to take
a penalty against his old club.
Penalty miss
Injuries would continue to haunt Baggio throughout his career, as indeed
would the penalty miss in the 1994 FIFA World Cup final which helped hand the
trophy to Brazil and his occasionally colourful relationship with a number of
Serie A coaches.
Religious convictions
"During my career I had great moments and difficult periods," said Baggio,
whose Buddhist beliefs may explain his serene outlook on life. "I'm extremely
happy for both, even if some people might wonder why I should be happy for
bad moments. I'm sure that pain helped me to mature both as a player and as a
man."
Football has always been my biggest passion and I have dedicated my life to
it,
Roberto Baggio
Goal breakdown
The Divine Ponytail, Raffaello and Le Petit Prince are just a few of the
nicknames Baggio has collected during his career, and he may yet collect a
final cap for Italy in a forthcoming friendly game if current Azzurri coach
Giovanni Trapattoni gets his way.
Surprising offer
Hearing that Baggio was considering retirement at the end of the season,
Trapattoni made a surprising offer. "I'll have a chat with him and if he
agrees with the idea then I could call him up for the game against Spain on
April 28," said Trapattoni. "It would be recognition for what he has given
this sport. He could even wear the No10 shirt because he is one of the No10s
that have made history."
'My biggest passion'
"Football has always been my biggest passion and I have dedicated my life to
it," Baggio said recently. "I have never been scared of the future and I
won't be scared when I have to take the extremely hard and painful decision
to quit playing." As Trapattoni's gesture demonstrated, Italian football will
miss him when he does.
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