Roberto Baggio (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto ˈbaddʒo]; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions.[4] He is the former president of the technical sector of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). A technically gifted, creative playmaker and a set piece specialist, renowned for his curling free-kicks, dribbling skills, and goalscoring, Baggio is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all-time.[nb 1] In 1999, he came fourth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll,[17] and was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002.[18] In 1993, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players.[19]
Baggio played for Italy in 56 matches, scoring 27 goals, and is the joint fourth-highest goalscorer for his national team, alongside Alessandro Del Piero. He starred in the Italian team that finished third in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice. At the 1994 World Cup, he led Italy to the final, scoring five goals, received the World Cup Silver Ball and was named in the World Cup All-Star Team.
Although he was the star performer for Italy at the tournament, he
missed the decisive penalty in the shootout of the final against Brazil.[6] At the 1998 World Cup, he scored twice before Italy were eliminated to eventual champions France in the quarter-finals. Baggio is the only Italian to score in three World Cups, and with nine goals holds the record for most goals scored in World Cup tournaments for Italy, along with Paolo Rossi and Christian Vieri.[20]
In 2002, Baggio became the first Italian player in over 50 years to score more than 300 career goals; he is currently the fifth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions with 318 goals. In 2004, during the final season of his career, Baggio became the first player in over 30 years to score 200 goals in Serie A, and is currently the seventh-highest goalscorer of all time in Serie A, with 205 goals.[21] In 1990, he moved from Fiorentina to Juventus for a world record transfer fee.[22] Baggio has won two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and a UEFA Cup, playing for seven different Italian clubs during his career: Vicenza, Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan, Bologna, Internazionale and Brescia.
Baggio is known as Il Divin Codino (The Divine Ponytail), for the hairstyle he wore for most of his career, for his talent and for his Buddhist beliefs.[23] In 2002, Baggio was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In 2003, he was the inaugural winner of the "Golden Foot" award. In recognition of his human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in 2010. He was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
In 1990, Baggio was sold to one of Fiorentina's rivals, Juventus, for £8 million, the world record transfer for a footballer at the time.[22] He inherited the number 10 shirt, formerly worn by Michel Platini.[41] Following the transfer, there were riots on the streets of Florence, where 50 people were injured.[42] Baggio replied to his fans, saying: "I was compelled to accept the transfer".
When Juventus played Fiorentina on 7 April 1991, Baggio refused to take a penalty, stating Fiorentina goalkeeper Gianmatteo Mareggini knew him too well. However, Luigi De Agostini, Baggio's replacement, missed the penalty and Juventus eventually lost the match. When Baggio was substituted, he picked up a Fiorentina scarf thrown onto the field, a gesture which, although appreciated by his former club's fans, caused outrage amongst the Juventus supporters, who were initially reluctant to accept Baggio. He claimed, "Deep in my heart I am always purple," the colour of Fiorentina.[43]
In this first season at Juventus, Baggio scored 14 goals and provided 12 assists in Serie A, often playing behind the forwards under Luigi Maifredi, although Juventus finished in seventh place in Serie A, outside the European qualification spots. However, Juventus did reach the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup that year, a tournament in which Baggio was top scorer with nine goals, bringing his seasonal total to 27 goals. Juventus would ultimately be eliminated by Johan Cruyff's Barcelona "Dream Team". Juventus were also eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia to eventual winners Roma, with Baggio scoring three goals. Juventus also lost the Supercoppa Italiana against Napoli at the beginning of the season; Baggio scored Juventus's only goal from a free-kick.[44] Baggio made his 100th Serie A appearance in a 0–0 draw against Lazio on 21 October 1990.[26]
In his second season, under new manager Giovanni Trapattoni, Baggio finished runner-up to Marco van Basten for the Serie A top scorer title, scoring 18 goals and providing 8 assists,[45] as Juventus finished runners-up to Fabio Capello's Milan in Serie A,[46] and to Parma in the Coppa Italia final, in which Baggio scored in his club's 1–0 victory in the first leg from a penalty.[47] It was during his second season with the club that Baggio came to be accepted by the Juventus fans, as he was seen as a leader around whom the club's play revolved.[48] However, Trapattoni often deployed Baggio in a more advanced role,[48] which led to minor disagreements between the player, his coach[49][50] and Juventus management.[51]
Baggio was appointed team captain for the 1992–93 season. He had a dominant season, winning the only European club trophy of his career after helping Juventus to the UEFA Cup final, in which he scored twice and assisted another goal over both legs, defeating Borussia Dortmund 6–1 on aggregate.[52] En route to the final, Baggio scored two goals in the 2–1 home victory against Paris Saint-Germain, in the first leg of the semi-final, and he went on to score the only goal in the return leg.[53][54] Juventus also reached the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, losing on away goals to local rivals and winners Torino. Juventus finished fourth in Serie A that season, although they managed a 3–1 away win against the Serie A champions Milan, with Baggio scoring a memorable individual goal while also setting-up Andreas Möller's first goal of the match.[55] One of the highlights of the season involved Baggio scoring four goals in open play against Udinese in a 5–0 Juventus home win.[56] Baggio was once again runner-up for the Serie A capocannoniere title with 21 goals and 6 assists. He scored a personal best 30 goals in all club competitions that season, in addition to five goals with the Italy national team. During the 1993 calendar year, Baggio managed a personal record 39 goals across all competitions, scoring 23 goals in Serie A, 3 in the Coppa Italia, 8 goals in European competitions and 5 goals for Italy, helping his national side qualify for the World Cup.[57] Baggio's performances throughout the year earned him both the European Footballer of the Year, with 142 points from a possible 150,[58] and the FIFA World Player of the Year awards.[5] He was also awarded the Onze d'Or,[59] and the World Soccer Player of the Year Award.[60]
In the 1993–94 season, Baggio often played as a second striker alongside Gianluca Vialli or Fabrizio Ravanelli, and occasionally the young Alessandro Del Piero;[61][62] Juventus once again finished runners up to Milan in Serie A, and Baggio finished third in the capocannoniere title with 17 goals and 8 assists, while the club suffered a quarter-final elimination in the UEFA Cup against Cagliari. On 31 October 1993, Baggio scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win over Genoa, which included his 100th Serie A goal.[1][26] He made his 200th Serie A appearance on 5 December 1993 in a 1–0 win over Napoli.[26] After sustaining an injury earlier that season, Baggio was operated on his meniscus in March 1994.[63] Baggio placed second in the 1994 Ballon d'Or,[64] third in the 1994 FIFA World Player of the Year,[5] and was awarded the 1994 Onze de Bronze.[59]
In the 1994–95 season, Trapattoni's replacement, Marcello Lippi, wanted to create a more cohesive team, less dependent on Baggio,[65] who was deployed as an outside forward in a 4–3–3 formation.[66] Baggio was injured for most of the season, being ruled out for over three months after sustaining a knee injury against Padova on 27 November 1994. After scoring from a free-kick, he was substituted by Alessandro Del Piero, who temporarily took his place in the team.[67] Baggio returned to the starting line-up in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Lazio in Rome on 8 March 1995, setting up Fabrizio Ravanelli's winner.[68] On his first Serie A match back from injury, on 12 March 1995, Baggio scored Juventus' second goal in a 2–0 win over Foggia, and set up Ravanelli's goal.[69] Due to his injury, Baggio only managed 17 Serie A appearances, but still contributed to the his first Scudetto with Juventus by contributing eight goals and eight assists.[70][71] He provided assists for three of the goals in the title-deciding match against Parma, which Juventus won 4–0 in Turin on 21 May 1995.[72] He helped Juventus win the Coppa Italia that year, notching two goals and two assists, scoring the winning goal in the second leg of the semi-final.[73] He helped lead Juventus to another UEFA Cup final by scoring four goals, including two goals and an assist over both legs of the semi-finals against Borussia Dortmund.[74][75][76] Despite Baggio's strong performance, Juventus were defeated in the UEFA Cup final by Parma.[77]
Baggio scored 115 goals in 200 appearances during his five seasons at Juventus; 78 were scored in Serie A in 141 appearances.[5][78] In 1995, Baggio was nominated for the Ballon d'Or and placed fifth in the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year Award.[79] He was also awarded the 1995 Onze d'Argent Award, behind George Weah.[59] Baggio is currently Juventus' ninth-highest goalscorer in all competitions,[80] and is the joint tenth-highest goalscorer for Juventus in Serie A, alongside Pietro Anastasi.[81] He is the sixth-highest Juventus goalscorer in the Coppa Italia with 14 goals, and the joint fourth all-time Juventus goalscorer in European and international competitions with 22 goals, alongside Anastasi.[80] In 2010, he was named one of the club's 50 greatest legends.
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