Maradona and Baggio: Serie A genius that transcended narrative.
Pele biography: "Roberto Baggio was the best Italian fantasista; he was better than Meazza and Boniperti, and he was amongst the greatest of all time, right behind Maradona, Pelé, and maybe Cruyff. Without the injury problems and the difficulties with his knees, he would have been the very best player in history.".
Baggio was a tactically versatile player, with a good understanding of the game, and was comfortable attacking on either flank or through the centre of the pitch; this allowed him to operate anywhere along the front-line. His preferred position was in a free playmaking role behind the forwards, as a creative attacking midfielder , although he was rarely deployed in this position throughout his career due to the prevalence of the 4—4—2 formation, in which he usually functioned either as a main striker , or more frequently in a supporting role as a deep-lying forward.
It was only in later years that he was able to play in this free role more frequently. He was also occasionally deployed out of position as a left winger in an attacking trident, as a wide midfielder , or even in central midfield as a mezzala or deep-lying playmaker on rarer instances. During the lead-up to the World Cup, he was also initially employed by Italy's manager Arrigo Sacchi as a centre-forward , in a role known in Italian football jargon as centravanti di manovra which literally translates to "manoeuvring centre-forward" , which was a precursor to the modern false-nine role; in this position, Baggio was expected to link-up with other players and create chances for them, in addition to creating space with his movement by dropping deep into midfield, and allowing the team's wingers to cut inside and make attacking runs into the centre.
A prolific goalscorer, Baggio was an accurate finisher from both inside and outside the area, and was known for his accurate bending shots and composure in front of goal, rather than his power. Due to his excellent technique, he was a precise volleyer, and he had a penchant for scoring from chip shots. Moreover, he was also a set piece specialist, who was highly regarded for his ball delivery from dead-ball situations, as well as his precision from direct free-kicks and his ability to curl the ball, which earned him a reputation as one of the best free kick takers of his generation.
His free-kick technique influenced several other players who came to be renowned for their prowess from dead-ball situations, such as Alessandro Del Piero and Andrea Pirlo. During his time with Juventus, his free kick technique was described as a cross between that of Maradona 's, Zico 's, and Platini's, as at the time, his ball-striking technique was thought to resemble Platini's, although, like Zico and Maradona, he preferred to take free kicks from close range, usually from a distance of around 20 to 16 metres from the goal, or even just outside the area, and to have the ball touched by a teammate first before striking it.
Despite his decisive miss in the World Cup final shootout, Baggio was also a penalty kick specialist. Although naturally right-footed, Baggio was comfortable using either foot, and often began dribbling with his left foot. Not particularly imposing physically, or in the air, due to his diminutive stature and slender physique, he was known however for his pace and acceleration over short distances, which, along with his movement, positioning, anticipation, technical ability, quick feet, low centre of gravity, and resulting agility, allowed him to lose his markers when making offensive runs into the area, both on and off the ball.
Regarded as one of the greatest dribblers ever, and as one of the most technically accomplished players of all time, Baggio possessed an excellent first touch, and was renowned for his skilful dribbling, ball control and balance, as well as his spatial awareness, speed of thought and execution, reactions, close control at speed, and ability to beat opponents with flair, tricks, body feints, or sudden changes of pace or direction, both in one-on-one situations, or during individual dribbling runs.
Zico once described Baggio as "technically flawless," while Gianluigi Buffon , in his autobiography Numero 1 , described Baggio as the "most technical player" with whom he had ever shared a pitch, adding that his touch and ball control were "unique. Widely considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time, Baggio came fourth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, and was ranked 16th in World Soccer's list of the greatest footballers of the 20th century, the highest ranked Italian player; in IFFHS's election for the best player of the 20th century in the same year, he was elected the ninth-best Italian player and the 53rd-best European player of the Century.
He was voted Italy's player of the century in In , Baggio was named one of the 50 greatest Juventus legends. In a FIFA poll, Baggio was voted the ninth-greatest number 10 of all time, and later that year he was ranked 24th in The Guardian' s list of the greatest World Cup players of all time, ahead of the World Cup in Brazil. In , journalists of La Gazzetta dello Sport elected the greatest Italian player of all time, with Baggio finishing in second place behind only Gianni Rivera; in a fan poll that was subsequently organised by the newspaper, Baggio was instead voted as the greatest Italian footballer of all time, while Majid Mohamed of UEFA ranked him as the twentieth-best player ever not to have won the UEFA Champions League.
That same year, The Daily Telegraph also included Baggio at number 12 in their list of "The top 20 overrated football players of all time. In July , the same magazine ranked Baggio at number ten in their list of the " greatest football players of the last 25 years" since their first edition in the summer of , while in September , he was ranked 27th in their list of the " best football players of all time.
In , Jack Gallagher of 90min. Baggio played in 16 World Cup matches for Italy; the Republic of Ireland is the only nation against which he played more than once. Baggio is the only Italian to have scored in three World Cups two goals in , five in and two in Three of his World Cup goals were scored in the group stage and six were scored during knockout matches.
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Baggio is the joint fourth-highest scorer for Italy with 27 goals in 56 appearances, with a 0. With Baggio, Italy was always eliminated from the World Cup in penalty shootouts: in , in the semi-finals against Argentina; in , in the final against Brazil; and in , in the quarter-finals against France. Baggio scored 10 with Vicenza, 25 with Fiorentina, 38 with Juventus, 5 with Milan, 11 with Bologna, 1 with Inter Milan, 11 with Brescia and 7 with Italy from 7 attempts, the most goals scored from the spot by a member of the national team.
In Serie A, Baggio scored 17 penalties for Fiorentina from 19 attempts , 25 for Juventus from 28 attempts , 3 for Milan from 5 attempts , 11 for Bologna from 11 attempts , 1 for Inter Milan from 2 attempts , and 11 for Brescia from 18 attempts. Baggio has scored penalties for six different Serie A clubs. Four of his fifteen misses in Serie A were then scored on rebounds.
Behind Totti, Baggio has scored the most penalties in Serie A history. Of his other penalties, 8 were scored in Serie C from 8 attempts , 8 in European competitions from 9 attempts , and 17 in the Coppa Italia from 20 attempts. In shoot-outs, Baggio converted three of four career penalties: one in the UEFA Cup with Fiorentina, and the other two with Italy at the World Cup; in World Cup shootouts, Baggio scored twice and , with his only miss in Although he never won the Serie A top goalscorer title, Baggio is currently the seventh all-time highest scorer in Serie A, with goals in appearances.
Of these goals, 96 were decisive either equalisers or match winners. Of his open play goals in Serie A, 84 were with his right foot, 26 with his left, and 6 were headers.
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He also assisted goals in Serie A, making him the second—highest assist provider of all time in Serie A, behind only Totti. He is the fourth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions, behind Del Piero, Giueseppe Meazza and Silvio Piola, with professional career goals in appearances. Alongside Totti and Alberto Gilardino , he has scored against the most different clubs 38 in Serie A.
Throughout his career, including friendlies, Baggio scored goals. In August , Baggio was appointed president of the technical sector of the Italian Football Federation, replacing his former Italy national team manager Azeglio Vicini. On 23 January , Baggio stepped down from the position, stating the federation had ignored his ideas about improving the system and focusing on youth talent, which prompted him to resign.
After his career threatening injury in , Baggio, formerly a Roman Catholic, converted to Buddhism, practicing Nichiren Buddhism, and is a member of the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist organisation. The captain's armband that he wore throughout his career bore the colours of this religious school blue, yellow, and red and the Japanese motto "We win.
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We must win" in ideograms of the language. Despite his conversion, he married his long-time girlfriend Andreina Fabbi in in a traditional Roman Catholic ceremony. They have a daughter, Valentina , and two sons, Mattia and Leonardo Between and , Baggio was the owner of a sporting goods store in Thiene, Vicenza, called Baggio Sport , which he was eventually forced to close due to losses as a result of the recession.
In , Baggio wrote an autobiography entitled Una porta nel cielo literally "A Door in the Sky", also known as "A Goal in the Sky" , including details about his career, childhood, religion, personal life and rifts with managers. It won the award for best football book at the Serie A Awards. Baggio has close ties with Argentina; he speaks Spanish and owns a ranch property in Rivera, where he enjoys hunting wild game.
In March , he gave a lengthy interview with La Gazzetta Dello Sport , in which he revealed that he came to support Argentine club Boca Juniors due to their passionate fanbase. In June , Baggio sustained minor injuries during a robbery at his villa near Vicenza. On 16 October , Baggio was named a Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , Through the organisation, Baggio helped to fund hospitals, raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquake, contribute to tackling bird flu, and was involved in the Burmese pro-democracy movement, which supported the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her release from prison.
Baggio was awarded the Man of Peace title in Hiroshima , presented by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in recognition of his charitable work and contribution to social justice and peace. On 8 October , Baggio appeared in a charity match between Milan and Fiorentina, which had been organised in honour of his former Fiorentina teammate Stefano Borgonovo to raise money for his foundation, his treatment and for ALS research.
On 1 September , Baggio took part in the "Match for Peace", which was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with the proceeds being donated to charity.
Baggio set up Juan Iturbe's goal and scored from a Diego Maradona assist. It is the largest Buddhist center in Europe. Roberto Baggio facts for kids Kids Encyclopedia Facts. For the biographical film, see Baggio: The Divine Ponytail.
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All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles including the article images and facts can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:. This page was last modified on 20 November , at Suggest an edit. Baggio in Caldogno , Italy. Forward , attacking midfielder. AC Milan. Inter Milan. Italy U Representing Italy.
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. Stadio Olimpico , Rome , Italy. San Marino. Soldier Field , Chicago , United States. United States. Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough , United States. Stadio San Paolo , Naples , Italy. Stade de France , Saint-Denis , France. At this tournament, he's best remembered for his goal against Czechoslovakia , which was later voted the goal of the tournament.
After a quick exchange with Giannini, Baggio dribbled past several players, deceived the last one with a feint, and effortlessly put the ball past the goalkeeper. This was met with riots in the streets of Florence, forcing Baggio to state that he was compelled to accept the transfer. In , he refused to take the penalty against his former club, which eventually led to Juventus losing the match.
Still, he continued to improve as a player, eventually becoming the team captain and leading Juventus to a UEFA Cup title in Baggio arrived at the World Cup in fine shape, having been Italy's top scorer during the qualifiers. Following some relatively disappointing group stage performances, Baggio found his form in the knockout stages, scoring no less than 5 goals on the way to the finals.
With his many transfers, his ups and downs, his disagreements with coaches and his stories of overcoming, Baggio is also the most Italian of all players, bringing the traditional, and often stereotyped, emotion and passion of the country's inhabitants to the pitch and, sometimes, times, taking it to extreme levels.
Elected best in the world by FIFA and featured in Italian football for several seasons, at a time when this was the main championship on the planet, Baggio would have even more fame and spotlight if he played today, with full coverage of all bids and games and immediate repercussion. He would be a sure bet for the many of those who like to bet on the platforms that currently populate football and the entertainment industry like the best Betting Sites for India.
Roberto Baggio was born on February 18, , and began his football career at the age of 13, when he reached the youth ranks of Vicenza. In May , he tore knee ligaments and spent more than a year off the pitch, in the first of several dramatic moments in his career. The player was already sold to Fiorentina, despite still playing in Vicenza, and it was in the new team that he recovered and debuted in Serie A.
His first goal was scored in May , two years after the serious injury, in a draw in against Napoli, by none other than Diego Maradona. In that exact match, Napoli celebrated its first title in its history. The great performances for Fiorentina led him to the selection but were not enough to guarantee Baggio the first cup: he hit the post, with the runner-up of the UEFA Cup, won by Juventus.
In his first season playing in the Serie C1, Baggio, led his team on an impressive run which led them to be promoted to the Serie B which earned him the Best Player in Serie C award. His performance thus attracted attest from other Italian clubs, such as Florentina. Towards the end of his last season at Vicenza, Baggio suffered an anterior cruciate ligament ACL in his right knee.
This came after a transfer have been agreed between Vicenza and Florentina. Despite fears that he may not be able to play again, Florentina agreed to the transfer as far as he had the necessary surgery. In his first season, Baggio was instrumental in Florentina retaining a spot in the Serie A. Throughout his time in Florentina, Baggio led the team to finish in the last eight or four of various tournaments such the Coppa Italia.
He is widely recognized for his formidable partnership with Stefano Borgonovo, which earned him the nickname B2. He was then awarded the Bravo Award for being the best U player in European tournaments. His transfer sparked protest across Florence which resulted in the injury of 50 people. Baggio was given the no. In his second season at Juventus, the fans began to accept him.
His fourth season at the club was less successful as he had to deal with injuries. After five seasons at Juventus, Baggio left the club.