明天早上是巴治ʊ (Roberto Baggio)國家隊的告別賽, 對西班牙. 今年亦是巴治ʊ最後一年球員生涯.
巴治奧是我稀有稱得上崇拜的偶像, 以下是巴治奧對我的人生點滴:
-1990年某天凌晨, 我給聲浪嘈醒, 父親在看電視, 我也跟覑看, 看見的是巴治奧扭過了5名比利時球員射入對方龍門, 是次乃是巴治奧對我的最初印象
-因為巴治奧, 我曾經想當足球員
-因為巴治奧, 94世界杯, 為了看意大利對保加利亞而缺席了一天年終試, 因此亦見證了蘇拿(Zola) 那有如阿飛正傳中梁朝偉的那幾分鐘.
-94世界杯後, 國家隊領隊沙基決定放棄巴治奧. 我在家中做了一個沙基「小人」來打.
-我曾想過怎樣將沙維斯域幹掉還巴治奧AC米蘭10號.
-我儲錢買了一件冒牌祖雲達斯黑白間波衫.
-我在中學以「巴治奧的人生歷程」一文獲得72分, 並入選文集.
-巴治奧喜歡的Hotel California是我最初迷上的英文歌之一.
-我曾在球場鬥波故意射向穿布雷西亞巴治奧10號波衫的一個仆街.
-我喜歡巴治奧多過 Kurt Cobain.
-巴治奧是我鍾愛的中少有積極的.
-此時此刻, 我相信巴治奧會使我的人生更美好. 他永遠是我的偶像.
04/29/2004. Gianni Agnelli said it best when he described Roberto Baggio as a football artist. The divine ponytail, as he is dubbed in Italy and all over the world, has awed and marvelled football fans since the late 80s during his period with Fiorentina where he caught the eye of many clubs.
His career seemed to be over already at the age of 18 when he had a serious injury which tormented him throughout his whole career but Baggio’s love for football was so strong that his willpower helped him get past this difficult moment and after the operation and recovery period he was back on the pitch. For the Viola he was an icon and when the club accepted the offer to sell him to their most bitter rivals Juventus, the fans protested in front of the headquarters in Florence but it was to no avail as Baggio passed to the Turin giants just before the 1990 World Cup in which he showcased all of his class scoring an amazing goal against Czechoslovakia and forming a deadly partnership with Toto Schillaci, which made the bianconeri fans dream.
After a slow first season start, in which Baggio angered his new fans by refusing to take a penalty against his former club Fiorentina as a sign of respect, Roby showed all of his class, winning the hearts of not just the bianconeri fans but also of the whole of Italy. With Juventus, Baggio became the image of the ’Old Lady’ winning the admiration of all football fans with Maradona hailing him as his only worthy heir.
He became such an important player for the team that Juventus became totally dependent on Baggio. In fact, whenever they were fighting for the Scudetto against the then almighty Milan, Juventus would end up giving in only when Baggio was out injured as the rest of the team around him seemed to lose half of its quality and ability without its captain.
His best season was definitely the 1993/94 campaign, in which Juventus won the Uefa Cup thanks to some amazing displays by Roberto Baggio which saw him win the Golden Ball award to crown a fantastic year and elevate him to International superstardom ahead of the 1994 World Cup. Before that World Cup, Italians were all hoping he would lead them to victory even if it was obvious that the Azzurri lacked a goal scoring striker and a creative midfield to be truly competitive.
After a really poor start by both Italy and Baggio, with the latter infamously calling Sacchi ’crazy’ for substituting him against Norway when Italy were reduced to ten men, both the Azzurri and their number 10 leader picked up from the 2nd phase onwards when a last minute goal by Baggio equalized for the Italy against Nigeria and in extra time he scored the winner from a penalty.
In the next round, another Baggio goal towards the end of the match helped the Italians get past Spain to reach a semi-final spot against Bulgaria who yet again were eliminated by a Baggio brace. He was being tipped to lead the Italians to their 4th World Cup over Romario’s Brazil. However an injury picked up against Bulgaria prevented Baggio from being at his best for the final and the whole Italian team felt this, playing a defensive match which led to the penalty shoot-out which unluckily will be remembered for Baggio’s final miss because even though he had led Italy to the final, the image of the Italian 1994 World Cup is associated with his penalty miss.
Following that disappointing final, Baggio finally won the Scudetto in the 1994/95 season when Moggi, Lippi and the whole new management took over at Juventus. This led to success but also to internal problems as Lippi wanted a Juventus that was not dependent on Baggio like the previous Juve sides and this tactic paid-off even if it meant sacrificing their most representative player, as he was sold to Milan at the end of the season, to invest in the new blood, Del Piero.
Everyone was excited to watch Baggio and Savicevic play together with Milan, creativity and flair at its best; however Capello found it hard to play them at the same time. Baggio in the 1995/96 season ended up winning his second consecutive Scudetto and what was his last Serie A title.
His second season with the rossoneri was far from impressive, mostly due to the fact that he was confined to the bench as none of the coaches who were at the helm of the club during that poor Milan season were able to find him a place in the starting eleven. This led to Baggio opting to leave the Milan based club and join Bologna where he met what he considers as his best coach ever, Carlo Mazzone.
During his Bologna season, Baggio was able to achieve the highest number of goals scored in a season during his whole career, earning him a spot in the Italian national team for the 1998 World Cup and in the summer agreeing to a move to Inter. However his Inter adventure was not what he had hoped for, mostly due to clashes with his former Juve coach, Marcello Lippi, all documented on Baggio’s biography.
His career seemed to be declining with no coach wanting the national hero in their team as he was considered more of a burden, but that was until Mazzone called him over to Brescia to help him avoid relegation. This was a new challenge for Baggio and he accepted and has now been in his current club for the past 5 seasons, still awing and surprising everyone with his immense class and delicious touches which still make him one of the most technical players in the world.
His physical problems might have stopped any other player, but Baggio kept going on and arrived to the top of the world. He can probably be defined as the best player of the 90s with Zidane being his closest rival. In the heart of his fans and all football lovers in general who had the opportunity to see him in action, Baggio was a show to watch and is one of those players that remind you why people love football so much.
The ’Divine Ponytail’ played what is expected to be his last match for Italy against Spain on Wednesday night. He had a decent game and was unlucky not to score.
"The game will provide the most beautiful memory of my career," Baggio told RAI television.
"As a professional you enjoy victories and goals but nothing has been as beautiful and emotional as the demonstration of affection that I was given by these fans.
"(It was) a really special match for me. It’s my last, apart from those that remain for me in the championship."
He added: "The applause and the banners this evening, the love of the people are the most beautiful things that will stay inside me.
"It wasn’t planned for me to play so long, I should have been on for less. You can see then that the gaffer wanted to give me the chance to get a goal but, unfortunately, it didn’t come.
"It was really satisfying for me to play in this match and I am grateful to all the people who showed their affection tonight and every time that I have played."
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