How often can one man unite the whole of Italy? How often does a player play for Juventus, Milan and Inter and become universally admired by their fans? How often does a man miss a crucial penalty in a World Cup final and have his legend grow? How often can one man be told his career is over due to injury and still continue?
Welcome to the crazy world of Roberto Baggio, Il Divin Codino (the divine ponytail). The sale of Roberto from Fiorentina to Juventus in 1990 was so poorly received that it led to rioting, looting and 50 people being hospitalised. A fall out with Marcelo Lippi at Inter would lead to the manager being sacked. A man who was the idol of Zinedine Zidane.
Baggio was born in Caldogno in 1967 and made his debut in Calcio at the tender age of 15 for Vicenza. He would stay with Vicenza for three years, playing in 47 games and bagging 15 times in that time.
A move to Florence followed and he would impress so much there in his 5 years that his transfer to Juventus inspired rioting and looting, with the move seen as a betrayal by the player and the club. After 55 goals in 136 appearances there, it’s easy to see why the fans were so upset to lose Baggio.
He truly announced himself to World football when in 1989 while playing for Fiorentina against Napoli, he outshone Maradona with a dazzling solo goal. This all came after his first career ending injury, too. During a game in 1985 at the age of only 18, Baggio experienced a major ACL and meniscus tear so brutal that doctors said he’d never play again.
It was his determination and will to come back and succeed that endeared him to La Viola fans, and would lead to their outrage at his sale. Baggio would later tell JuveFC.com that he “didn’t want to leave Florence. I felt indebted to this city, these people, these fans”.
When Baggio returned to Florence with Juventus in a Coppa Italia match, the anger over his move only intensified when he refused to take a penalty and his replacement subsequently missed.
However, his time at Juventus wasn’t all controversy, it was mainly illuminating moments. Il Divin Codino scored 115 goals in 200 matches for the Old Lady and would win the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup during a spell that also saw him win the Ballon D’Or.
In that 1993 UEFA Cup final against Borussia Dortmund he would score two goals and assist his namesake Dino in a 3-1 first leg win away to the German side. Dino would say of Roberto after the game, “Roberto could change the game in an instant, he is our leader without shouting”.
Roberto Baggio would truly make his name a year later, however, with a virtuoso performance in the 1994 World Cup in USA. Italy would start the tournament very slowly, with a 1-0 loss to Ireland in their first game before a narrow 1-0 win against Norway (in which Sacchi was criticised for subbing off Roberto) followed by a 1-1 draw with Mexico that saw Italy scrape through to the second round.
It was in the second round that Il Divin Codino burst into life. With Italy trailing Nigeria 1-0 in the Round of 16 game, Baggio stole an equaliser in the 88th minute, before scoring the winning penalty in Extra Time.
Again, in the 88th minute of the Quarter Final against Spain, Baggio took control of the game, slaloming through defenders to score a sensational winner that put Italy through to the Semi Final against surprise package Bulgaria. Baggio scored twice in the first half to secure a 2-1 win for the Azzurri, the second being a classic Baggio run and finish – poetry in motion.
Unsurprisingly playing on an injury, Baggio had carried Italy to the final with one leg. Arrigo Sacchi said after this game, “He played like an angel with the knees of an old man”.
All that was left to complete the legend of Baggio was for the Ballon D’Or holder to carry Italy to World Cup triumph in the final against Brazil.
A cagey affair, the final went the distance, going to a penalty shoot out after a 0-0 draw. It was the first ever World Cup final to be decided on penalties and with Brazil having missed one and Italy having failed twice, it all rested on Roberto Baggio to keep the dream alive.
In truth, even if he had scored, Brazil would’ve won by scoring the next kick, but it never got there. Roberto skied his penalty high above the goal and into the stand behind the goal. Later Baggio would say, “I failed. But only those who have the courage to take a penalty can miss them”.
Despite the miss, Baggio had garnered global admiration for dragging Italy to that final almost single handedly. Lothar Matthaus of Germany and Inter said afterwards, “He was magical, like Maradona in 86, but with worse luck”. World Cups aren’t just about who wins them, they’re about the players who light them up, and Baggio had certainly done that. Baresi said, “Roberto was the World Cup, without him we were half the team”.
Baggio returned to Italy and would play for Milan between 1995-1997, winning the Scudetto again. After notching 19 goals in 67 games for them, he moved to Bologna to improve his chances of appearing in France 98. Scoring 22 goals in 33 appearances there succeeded in getting him on the plane to France where he would score his last goal for Italy in a 2-1 win over Austria.
That form earned him a transfer to Inter Milan, where he would score 17 times in 59 games, including two on the last day of the season against Parma to secure a 2-0 win and Champions League football for Inter. This all came after a fall out with coach Marcello Lippi who was sacked after the game, showing the influence of the Divine Ponytail in club decisions.
Baggio’s final career move was to Brescia where he spent 4 seasons until retiring in 2004. He had scored 45 goals in 101 appearances by this point including a sublime lob from outside the area against Juventus at the age of 34. He helped Brescia to qualify for Europe and mentored a young Andrea Pirlo during his time there, cementing his cult status among Calcio fans.
Upon his retirement, Roberto Baggio had scored 288 goals in 643 Serie A matches, along with 27 goals in 56 games for the Azzurri. He had played for the three biggest teams in Italy who were also the biggest enemies. He had cost Italy a World Cup that he nearly won them. And yet everyone loved him. Baggio was a symbol of the beauty of football above all else. He was a symbol of the decadent days of Calcio in the 90s. He was a symbol of artistry, humility and perseverance. He inspired a generation of fantasisti with Totti, Del Piero and Cassano all citing him as an influence.
Perhaps the best way to sum up Roberto Baggio is with the words of Italian journalist Gianni Mura, “Roberto Baggio is not a footballer. He is an idea”.
The Calcio Blog 