footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...

set piece In film production, a set piece is a scene or sequence of scenes whose execution requires complex logistical planning and considerable expenditure of money. The term is often also used more broadly to describe a sequence in which the film-maker's ...

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

FIFA Player of the Century FIFA Player of the Century was a one-off award created by FIFA to decide the greatest football player of the 20th century, announced at the annual FIFA World gala, held in Rome on 11 December 2000. Diego Maradona and Pelé were joint winners ...

FIFA World Cup Dream Team The FIFA World Cup Dream Team is an all-time FIFA World Cup all-star team published by FIFA in 2002 after conducting an internet poll of fans to select a World Cup dream team. In 1993, he was named

FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...

and won the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...

. In 2004, he was named by

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

in the

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...

, a list of the world's greatest living players. Baggio played for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 56 matches, scoring 27 goals, and is the joint fourth-highest goalscorer for his national team, alongside

Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...

. He starred in the Italian team that finished third in the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...

, scoring twice. At the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...

, he led Italy to

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, 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 Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. At the 1998 World Cup, he scored twice before Italy were eliminated by eventual champions

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the quarter-finals. Baggio is the only Italian to score in three

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, and with nine goals holds the record for most goals scored in World Cup tournaments for Italy, along with

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden ...

and

Christian Vieri Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his p ...

. In 2002, Baggio became the first Italian player in over 50 years to score more than 300 career goals; he is 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 The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

, and is the seventh-highest goalscorer of all time in Serie A, with 205 goals. In 1990, he moved from

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

for a world record transfer fee. Baggio won two Serie A titles, a

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, and a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

, playing for seven different Italian clubs during his career (

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

, Fiorentina, Juventus,

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

,

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

,

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

, and

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

). Baggio is known as ' ("The Divine

Ponytail A ponytail is a hairstyle in which some, most or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip, or other similar accessory and allowed to hang freely from that point ...

"), for the hairstyle he wore for most of his career, for his talent, and for his

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

beliefs. In 2002, Baggio was nominated

Goodwill Ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a public ...

of the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

of the United Nations. In 2003, he was the inaugural winner of the

Golden Foot The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 yea ...

award. In recognition of his human rights activism, he received the

Man of Peace The Man of Peace is an award conceptualized in 1999 by the annual World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome. The purpose of the award is to recognize individuals who "from personalities from the world of culture and entertainment who have stoo ...

award from the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

Laureates in 2010. In 2011, he was the first footballer to be inducted into the

Italian Football Hall of Fame The Italian Football Hall of Fame ( it, Hall of Fame del calcio italiano) is the hall of fame for association football players that have had a significant impact on Italian football. It is housed at the '' Museo del Calcio'' in Coverciano, Ital ...

. Throughout his career, including friendlies, Baggio scored 425 goals.

Early life

Roberto Baggio was born in

Caldogno Caldogno is a town and ''comune'' near Vicenza in Italy. It has a population of 11,337 inhabitants. The Villa Caldogno Nordera in its territory is attributed to architect Andrea Palladio. It is the birthplace of the football player Roberto Baggi ...

,

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

, the son of Matilde and Florindo Baggio, the sixth of eight siblings. His younger brother,

Eddy Baggio Eddy Baggio (born 23 August 1974) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a striker. Early life Born in Caldogno, Italy, in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, he is the youngest of the eight children of Matilde and Fiorin ...

, was also a footballer who played 86 matches in

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

.

Club career

1976–1985: Early career and Vicenza

Baggio began his youth career after being noticed by his hometown youth team, Caldogno, at age nine. By the time he turned 11, he had scored 45 goals and provided 20 assists in 26 matches, also scoring six goals in one match. His talent was recognised by scout Antonio Mora, and he was acquired by the

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

youth team at age 13 for £300 (500,000 Lit). After scoring 110 goals in 120 matches, Baggio began his professional career with the Vicenza senior side in 1983, at age 15. At the age of 16, Baggio made his

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...

debut with Vicenza on 5 June 1983, a 1–0 home loss against

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

, in the final league match of the season, coming on as a second-half substitute. He scored his first goal in Serie C1 during the following season, on 3 June 1984, from a penalty in a 3–0 win against

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

, the club with which he retired in 2004. Baggio scored the first professional goal of his career in the

Coppa Italia Serie C Coppa Italia Serie C ( it, Serie C Italian Cup), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972. Format There are a total of six rounds in the ...

in a 4–1 away win over

Legnano Legnano (; or ''Lignàn'') is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the north-westernmost part of the Metropolitan City of Milan, Province of Milan, about from central Milan. With 60,259, it is the thirteenth-most populous township in Lombardy. Le ...

on 30 November 1983. He also made his

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

debut with the club on 31 August 1983, against

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, and he scored his first

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

goal in a 4–2 away loss to

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

, on 26 August 1984. During the 1984–85 Serie C1 season under manager Bruno Giorgi, he scored 12 goals in 29 appearances, helping the club to gain promotion to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

. Baggio began to draw the attention of larger Italian clubs, in particular Serie A side

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

, and his playing style was compared to that of his idol Zico. Baggio was also awarded the Guerin d'Oro in 1985 as the Best Player in Serie C1. During the end of his final season at Vicenza, Baggio shattered both the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

(ACL) and the meniscus of his right knee while playing against

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

on 5 May 1985, while attempting a slide tackle. The injury occurred two days before his official transfer deal to Fiorentina had been finalised, and it seriously threatened his career, at age 18. Although several team doctors feared he would not play again, Fiorentina retained their faith in him, agreeing to commit to the transfer as well as fund the required surgery, one of many reasons for Baggio's attachment to the club.

1985–1990: Fiorentina

Fiorentina purchased Baggio in 1985 for £1.5 million. During his time at the club, despite initial injuries, he became extremely popular, and is regarded as one of the club's best ever players. In his first season with the club, Baggio did not appear in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

as he was sidelined by injury; Fiorentina finished in fifth place in the league and reached the semi-finals of the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, with Baggio making his club debut in the latter competition. He finally made his Serie A debut the following season on 21 September 1986, in a 2–0 home win against

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

, and he also made his European debut that season on 17 September 1986, in an

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

match against Boavista. Baggio suffered another knee injury on 28 September, and he was operated again, requiring 220 stitches to have it rebuilt, losing 12 kg as a result and missing most of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

. Baggio returned, and scored his first league goal from a free-kick on 10 May 1987 in a 1–1 draw against

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...

's

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, the eventual Serie A champions; Baggio's equaliser saved Fiorentina from relegation. Baggio led Fiorentina to a

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

quarter-final during the 1988–89 season under manager

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...

, scoring nine goals, as Fiorentina were eliminated by eventual champions Sampdoria. This season would be Baggio's breakthrough, as he scored 15 goals in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

, finishing third in the ''

capocannoniere The ''Capocannoniere'' award (; literally "head gunner"), known as Paolo Rossi Award UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

spot, assisting the only goal by

Roberto Pruzzo Roberto Pruzzo (; born 1 April 1955) is an Italian former football player and coach who played as a forward. He represented Italy at UEFA Euro 1980. A prolific goalscorer, Pruzzo was considered one of the best Italian forwards of his generation ...

in the tiebreak qualifier against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

. He formed a notable attacking partnership with

Stefano Borgonovo Stefano Borgonovo (; 17 March 1964 – 27 June 2013) was an Italian footballer and manager, who played as a striker. An opportunistic striker, Borgonovo played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, and came to prominence while playin ...

, and the pair scored 29 of Fiorentina's 44 Serie A goals, earning the nickname "B2". Baggio's performances elevated him to hero status among the fans, and he drew praise from several pundits. His characteristics led former Fiorentina playmaker

Miguel Montuori Miguel Ángel Montuori (, ; 24 September 1932 – 4 June 1998) was an Argentine-Italian football (soccer), football player, who played as a Forward (association football), forward and as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder. He ...

to say Baggio was "more productive than Maradona; he is without doubt the best number 10 in the league", also stating that Baggio had "ice in his veins" due to his composure in front of goal. Although Fiorentina were struggling against relegation during the 1989–90 season, Baggio led the club to the

1990 UEFA Cup Final The 1990 UEFA Cup Final was an association football tie played on 2 May 1990 and 16 May 1990 between Juventus and Fiorentina of Italy. Juventus won 3–1 on aggregate. This was the first final between two Italian sides in the UEFA competit ...

, only to be defeated by his future club,

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

. Baggio scored 1 goal in 12 appearances in the competition, in a round of 16 1–0 home win against

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...

, from a penalty, on 22 November 1989; this was his first goal in European competitions. He also scored the decisive penalty in the first round

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. With 17 goals, Baggio was the second-highest goalscorer in the 1989–90 Serie A season after

Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and retired professional player, who played for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...

, and was awarded the

Bravo Award The Bravo Award was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine '' Guerin Sportivo'' to the most outstanding young European footballer. The first winner of the award was Englishman Jimmy Case. The first non-European to win the ...

as the best under-23 player in European competitions. He also placed eighth in the 1990 Ballon d'Or. With Fiorentina, Baggio scored 55 goals in 136 appearances, 39 of which were in Serie A, from 94 appearances.

1990–1995: Juventus

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. He inherited the number 10 shirt, formerly worn by

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, ...

. Following the transfer, there were riots on the streets of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, where 50 people were injured. 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 Gianmatteo Mareggini (born 8 January 1967, in Modena) is an Italian former footballer, who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently a goalkeeping coach for Figline. Career Mareggini spent most of his footballing career playing in Tuscany, mos ...

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 among the Juventus supporters, who were initially reluctant to accept Baggio. He claimed to be "always purple" in his heart, with purple being the colour of Fiorentina. Baggio juventus

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 Luigi Maifredi (born 20 April 1947), commonly known as Gigi Maifredi, is an Italian football manager, currently working as a technical collaborator of Italian club Brescia. Career Born in Lograto (Province of Brescia), started out playing in h ...

, 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 The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

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 Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...

's

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

"Dream Team". Juventus were also eliminated in the quarter-finals of the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

to eventual winners Roma, with Baggio scoring three goals. Juventus also lost the

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...

against Napoli at the beginning of the season; Baggio scored Juventus's only goal from a free-kick. Baggio made his 100th Serie A appearance in a 0–0 draw against

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

on 21 October 1990. In his second season, under new manager

Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...

, Baggio finished runner-up to Marco van Basten for the Serie A top scorer title, scoring 18 goals and providing 8 assists, as Juventus finished runners-up to

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...

's

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

in Serie A, and to

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

in the Coppa Italia final, in which Baggio scored in his club's 1–0 victory in the first leg from a penalty. 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. However, Trapattoni often deployed Baggio in a more advanced role, which led to minor disagreements between the player, his coach and Juventus management. Baggio was appointed

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

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 A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, in which he scored twice and assisted another goal over both legs, defeating

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

6–1 on aggregate. ''En route'' to the final, Baggio scored two goals in the 2–1 home victory against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

, in the first leg of the semi-final, and he went on to score the only goal in the return leg. Juventus also reached the semi-finals of the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, losing on away goals to local rivals and winners

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

. 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 Andreas Möller (born 2 September 1967) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the head of the youth department at Eintracht Frankfurt. Club career At club level, Möller played for Eintrach ...

's first goal of the match. One of the highlights of the season involved Baggio scoring four goals in open play against

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a fo ...

in a 5–0 Juventus home win. Baggio was once again runner-up for the Serie A ''capocannoniere'' title with 21 goals and 6 assists. He scored a personal best of 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. Baggio's performances throughout the year earned him both the

European Footballer of the Year The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (foun ...

, with 142 points from a possible 150, and the

FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...

awards. He was also awarded the

Onze d'Or The ''Onze d'Or'' (alternative name: ''Onze Mondial'' European Footballer of the Year) is an association football award given by French magazine '' Onze Mondial'' since 1976. The award honors the best player in Europe, with any player in a European ...

, and the World Soccer Player of the Year Award. In the 1993–94 season, Baggio often played as a second striker alongside Gianluca Vialli or

Fabrizio Ravanelli Fabrizio Ravanelli (; born 11 December 1968) is an Italian football manager and former international player. A former striker, Ravanelli started and ended his playing career at hometown club Perugia Calcio, and also played for Middlesbrough, J ...

, and occasionally the young Alessandro Del Piero; 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 A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

against

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

. On 31 October 1993, Baggio scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win over

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, which included his 100th Serie A goal; he also set up a goal for Möller during the match. Baggio made his 200th Serie A appearance on 5 December 1993 in a 1–0 win over Napoli. After sustaining an injury earlier that season, Baggio was operated on his meniscus in March 1994. Baggio placed second in the

1994 Ballon d'Or The 1994 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Hristo Stoichkov on 20 December 1994. Stoichkov was the first Bulgarian national to win the awa ...

, third in the 1994 FIFA World Player of the Year, and was awarded the 1994 Onze de Bronze. In the 1994–95 season, Trapattoni's replacement,

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional football player and manager, who led the Italian national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed as Italy head coach in the summer of 2004 and 2 ...

, wanted to create a more cohesive team, less dependent on Baggio, who was deployed as an outside forward in a 4–3–3 formation. Baggio was injured for most of the season, being ruled out for over three months after sustaining a knee injury against

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

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. Baggio returned to the starting line-up in the first leg of the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

semi-final against

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on 8 March 1995, setting up Fabrizio Ravanelli's winner. 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 Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

, and set up Ravanelli's goal. Due to his injury, Baggio only managed 17 Serie A appearances, but still contributed to his first ''

scudetto The ''scudetto'' (Italian language, Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in ...

'' with Juventus by contributing eight goals and eight assists. He provided assists for three of the goals in the title-deciding match against Parma, which Juventus won 4–0 in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

on 21 May 1995. He helped Juventus win the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

that year, notching two goals and two assists, scoring the winning goal in the second leg of the semi-final. 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. Despite Baggio's strong performance, Juventus were defeated in the UEFA Cup final by Parma. Baggio scored 115 goals in 200 appearances during his five seasons at Juventus; 78 were scored in Serie A in 141 appearances. In 1995, Baggio was nominated for the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...

and placed fifth in the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year Award. He was also awarded the 1995 Onze d'Argent Award, behind

George Weah George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah (; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served a ...

. Baggio is currently Juventus' ninth-highest goalscorer in all competitions, and is the joint tenth-highest goalscorer for Juventus in Serie A, alongside

Pietro Anastasi Pietro Anastasi (; 7 April 1948 – 17 January 2020), nicknamed ''Petruzzu 'u turcu'' () by fans, was an Italian footballer who played mainly in the role of a forward. He started his professional club career in Italy with Varese in 1966, helpi ...

. He is the sixth-highest Juventus goalscorer in the Coppa Italia with 14 goals, and is also the joint fourth all-time Juventus goalscorer in European competitions, as well as the joint fifth all-time Juventus goalscorer in international competitions, with 22 goals, alongside Anastasi once again. In 2010, he was named one of the club's 50 greatest legends.

1995–1997: AC Milan

In 1995, Marcello Lippi,

Roberto Bettega Roberto Bettega (; born 27 December 1950) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward. A prolific and athletic player, Bettega is mostly remembered for his successful time at his hometown club Juventus, where he won several titles a ...

and

Umberto Agnelli Umberto Agnelli (; 1 November 1934 – 27 May 2004) was an Italian industrialist and politician. He was the third son of Virginia Agnelli (born Donna Virginia Bourbon del Monte) and of Edoardo Agnelli, and the youngest brother of Gianni Agnelli. ...

announced that Baggio no longer featured in their plans at Juventus and decided to focus on the emerging star Alessandro Del Piero, who would inherit Baggio's number 10 shirt. Baggio faced difficulties with Agnelli,

Luciano Moggi Luciano Moggi ( born 10 July 1937) is a former Italian association football administrator. He was a club executive for A.S. Roma, Roma, S.S. Lazio, Lazio, Torino F.C., Torino, S.S.C. Napoli, Napoli, and Juventus, leading them to win six leagues ...

, and Juventus management during his final season, as they stated they would only renew his contract if he reduced his salary by 50%. After strong pressure from

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

chairman

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

and manager Fabio Capello, Baggio was sold to the Milanese club for £6.8 million, amidst several protests from Juventus fans. At the time, Baggio had been linked with

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

,

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, and English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

clubs

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

. Although Baggio initially struggled with injuries at the beginning of his first season with Milan, he came back into the starting line-up and was appointed the main penalty taker. He helped Milan win the Serie A title, notably scoring a goal against his former team Fiorentina from a penalty in the title-deciding match. Baggio finished the season with 10 goals in all competitions, in 34 appearances; seven of his goals were scored in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

, in 28 appearances, and he also provided 12 assists in Serie A, making him the top assist provider of the season. He became one of only six players to win the ''scudetto'' in consecutive years with different teams, and was voted the club's best player of the season by the fans, despite playing a more creative role. Towards the end of the season, Baggio had disagreements with Capello due to limited playing time, as Capello believed he was no longer fit enough to play for 90 minutes; although Baggio frequently started matches, he was often substituted during the second half; during the course of the season, he only played nine matches in their entirety, being substituted on 17 occasions, and coming off the bench twice. During the opening of the

1996–97 Serie A The 1996–97 Serie A title was won by Juventus, under head coach Marcello Lippi. Cagliari, Perugia, Hellas Verona and Reggiana were relegated. Teams Bologna, Hellas Verona, Perugia and Reggiana had been promoted from Serie B. Events Follow ...

under new Milan manager

Óscar Tabárez Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva (; born 3 March 1947), known as ''El Maestro'' (The Teacher), is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player. He most recently coached the Uruguay national team. After an unassuming career as a ...

, Baggio was initially left out of the first team, with the former commenting " ere is no place for poets in modern football." Baggio was later able to convince the Uruguayan manager of his abilities and earn himself a spot in the starting line-up; he became the focal point of the team's offensive play, and was initially started in his preferred role behind George Weah, and on occasion as a left-winger or as a central-midfielder playmaker. After a series of disappointing results, Baggio was relegated to the bench, and Milan's former coach

Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach. He has twice managed AC Milan (1987–1991, 1996–1997), with great success. He won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then dominated European ...

, also the former Italy manager with whom Baggio had argued following the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...

, was called in as a replacement. Although their relationship initially improved, Sacchi gave Baggio limited playing time, and he soon fell out of form, along with the rest of the squad, which caused their relationship to deteriorate again. Milan failed to retain their league title, finishing the season in a disappointing 11th place, and they were knocked out once again in the quarter-finals of the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

. Baggio made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

debut in the 1996–97 season, scoring his first goal in the competition, although Milan were eliminated in the group stage. Milan also lost the

1996 Supercoppa Italiana The 1996 Supercoppa Italiana was a match played by the 1995–96 Serie A winners Milan and 1995–96 Coppa Italia winners Fiorentina. It took place on 25 August 1996 at the San Siro in Milan, Italy. Fiorentina won the match 2–1 to earn th ...

to Fiorentina, as Baggio was left on the bench. During his time at Milan, Baggio scored 19 goals in 67 appearances in all competitions; 12 of his goals were scored in Serie A, in 51 appearances, 3 were scored in the Coppa Italia in 6 appearances, and 4 were scored in European competitions, in 10 appearances.

1997–1998: Bologna

In 1997, Capello returned to Milan, subsequently stating Baggio was not a part of his plans with the club. Baggio chose to move to Parma, but the manager at the time,

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...

, impeded the transfer, as he also did not feel Baggio would fit into his tactical plans. Ancelotti would later state he regretted this decision, stating that in his naïveté, he believed that the 4–4–2 formation was the ideal formation for success, and he felt that at the time, creative players such as

Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a forward. He was most recently the assistant manager of Chelsea. He spent the first decade of his playing career playing in ...

and Baggio were not compatible with this system. Baggio subsequently transferred to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, aiming to save the squad from relegation, and earn a place at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

. Baggio refound his form with the club and had a dominant season, scoring a personal best of 22 goals in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

, as well as providing 9 assists, leading Bologna to an eighth-place finish, allowing them to qualify for the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

. Baggio was the highest scoring Italian in Serie A that season, and the third-highest goalscorer in Serie A. His performances earned him a place in Italy's 1998 World Cup squad. Baggio also led Bologna to the round of 16 in the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, where he scored one goal in three appearances. Although he rose to hero status amongst the fans, he had difficulties with his manager

Renzo Ulivieri Renzo Ulivieri (born 2 February 1941) is an Italian association football manager. He is the current chairman of the ''Associazione Italiana Allenatori Calcio'' (Italian Football Managers' Association). Career After a very short playing career as ...

, in particular when he was left out of the starting 11 against Juventus. Ulivieri later denied ever having any difficulties with Baggio. At the beginning of the season, Baggio cut off his iconic ponytail, signifying his rebirth. Baggio was named as Bologna's captain for part of the season, before handing the armband to

Giancarlo Marocchi Giancarlo Marocchi (; born 4 July 1965) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Central midfielder, central midfielder. Throughout his club career, he played for Juventus, the club with which ...

. Baggio made his 300th Serie A appearance while at Bologna, in a 0–0 draw against

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

on 11 January 1998. Baggio received nominations for both the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...

and the

FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...

due to his performances for Bologna and Italy that season. He was also nominated for the 1998

Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year The AIC Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore italiano AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the Italian footballer who was considered to have performed the best over th ...

and

Serie A Footballer of the Year Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

awards, losing out to Alessandro Del Piero and

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...

, respectively.

1998–2000: Inter Milan

After the 1998 World Cup, Baggio signed with his favourite childhood club Inter Milan in order to compete in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. After injuries, disappointing results, and several managerial changes throughout the season, including

Luigi Simoni Luigi "Gigi" Simoni (22 January 1939 – 22 May 2020) was an Italian football official, player and manager. A skilled tactician, as a coach Simoni enjoyed notable success in earning promotion from Serie B to Serie A with the teams he managed, a ...

,

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently head coach of Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv. He is one of the most decorated managers of all time. Lucescu is also ...

, and

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is a former English football manager and player. He managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to th ...

, Baggio struggled to gain playing time, and was used out of position as a winger, often as a substitute. Baggio scored 5 goals and provided 10 assists in 23 appearances during the 1998–99 season, as Inter finished in eighth place, missing out on a European spot. He helped Inter to a

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

semi-final, losing out to eventual winners Parma. Baggio scored a goal against his former club Bologna in a European play-off match, but Inter lost both matches, failing to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Baggio also scored four goals in the Champions League, helping lead Inter through the qualifying rounds to the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by eventual winners Manchester United, also scoring a memorable brace against defending champions Real Madrid in the group stage. In the 1999–2000 season, Marcello Lippi, Baggio's former manager at Juventus, was appointed as Inter's new coach. Lippi did not favour Baggio and left him out of the squad for most of the season, stating Baggio was out of shape. In his autobiography, Baggio stated Lippi had dumped him after Baggio refused to point out which of Inter's players had expressed negative opinions about the coach, also highlighting an incident during a training session where he called out

Christian Vieri Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his p ...

and

Christian Panucci Christian Panucci (; born 12 April 1973) is an Italian former association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager. In his playing career he played as a Defender (association football), defender. A versatile footballer, he ...

for applauding Baggio for a notable assist. Baggio was used scarcely and often as a substitute, scoring 4 goals in 18 appearances during the regular Serie A season. He made five appearances in the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, with his only goal coming against local rivals A.C. Milan in the second leg of the quarter-finals, as he helped Inter reach the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, only to be defeated by Lazio. Despite his limited playing time, Baggio still managed several important goals to help Inter to a fourth-place finish, alongside Parma, such as his match winning goal against

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85. His ...

, which he scored after coming off the bench, after being excluded from the team since 18 December 1999. Baggio had also previously helped to set up Inter's equaliser during the match. This was the first time Baggio had scored for Inter since his goal on 27 May of the previous season, and in the post-match the interview, he denied accusations made by Lippi in regard to his personal form. Baggio's last important contribution to Inter was scoring two memorable goals against Parma in the play-off match for the last remaining Champions League place, which Inter won 3–1; Lippi had been forced to field Baggio due to several injuries. Baggio was given a perfect 10 rating from the Italian sports newspaper ''

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

'', which described his performance as "absolutely perfect all game". This match is considered an example of professionalism shown by Baggio, as Inter president

Massimo Moratti Massimo Moratti (born 16 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire petroleum businessman, the former owner of Inter Milan and chairman of the Saras Group, founded in 1962 by his father, industrialist Angelo Moratti. The main production site of the Sara ...

had stated Lippi would only stay on if the team qualified for the Champions League.

2000–2004: Brescia

After two years with Inter, Baggio decided not to renew his expiring contract due to his conflicts with Marcello Lippi, making him a free agent at age 33. He was linked with several Serie A clubs, such as Napoli and

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are n ...

, and also various Premier League and

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

clubs, including Barcelona. Baggio ultimately transferred to Serie A newcomers Brescia under head coach

Carlo Mazzone Carlo "Carletto" Mazzone (born 19 March 1937 in Rome) is an Italian retired professional association footballer and manager, who played as a centre-back. Playing career Mazzone played several seasons for A.S. Roma, as well as for SPAL and Ascoli ...

, aiming to save them from relegation; he remained in Italy in order to have a greater opportunity of being called up for the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. He was made captain and was given the number 10 shirt, playing as an attacking midfielder. Despite injury problems during the first half of the season, Baggio re-found his form and managed ten goals and ten assists in the 2000–01 season. Brescia finished in a joint seventh place, their best Serie A finish since the league's re-establishment in 1946, and qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup, also reaching the quarter-finals of the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, losing to eventual winners Fiorentina. Baggio helped Brescia to the final of the

2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were won by Aston Villa, Paris Saint-Germain and Troyes. All three teams advanced to the UEFA Cup. First round First leg ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ...

, where they were defeated by Paris Saint-Germain on away goals. Baggio scored one goal in the tournament, in the final from a penalty. His performances earned him a nomination for the 2001 Ballon d'Or, and he finished 25th overall in the rankings. Baggio was one of the best offensive

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...

s in the league, winning the

Guerin d'oro The Guerin d'Oro ''(Golden Guerin)'' was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine ''Guerin Sportivo'' to the best Serie A football player. The first winner of the award was Claudio Sala, while the last was Carlos Tevez. Hist ...

Award in 2001, awarded by the Italian sports magazine '' Guerin Sportivo'', to the player with the highest average rating throughout the season with at least 19 appearances. At the start of 2001–02 season, Baggio scored eight goals in the first nine matches, leading him to the top of the Serie A goalscoring table. In his eighth league appearance of the season, against Piacenza, Baggio scored a goal but later suffered an injury. A week later, against

Venezia Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

, he scored from a penalty, but he endured a more serious injury following a hard challenge which caused him to tear the ACL of his left knee, keeping him out of action for four months. He suffered a second serious injury that season, tearing the meniscus in his left knee, after returning to the team, and coming off the bench, in the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

semi-final against Parma on 31 January 2002. He was operated on 4 February 2002 and he returned for three matches before the end of the season, making a recovery in 76 days. On 21 April 2002, in the first game after his comeback, Baggio came on as a substitute to score two goals against Fiorentina, helping Brescia win the match. He scored again against Bologna, saving Brescia from relegation on the final matchday, and bringing his seasonal tally to 11 goals in 12 Serie A matches. Despite Baggio's performances and public demand, Italy national team head coach Giovanni Trapattoni did not deem him fully fit, prompting the coach to leave Baggio out of the final squad for the 2002 World Cup. Trapattoni also expressed concern about bringing Baggio to the World Cup due to the presence of

Francesco Totti Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for A.S. Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bim ...

and Alessandro Del Piero in his role, believing that this could create a rivalry between the players. After missing out on the tournament, Baggio reversed his initial decision to retire after the World Cup, expressing his intention to surpass the 200 Serie A goal mark. Baggio maintained a high level of performance under new coach

Gianni De Biasi Giovanni "Gianni" De Biasi (, sq, Xhovani "Xhani" De Biazi), born 16 June 1956 is an Italian football coach and former player. He holds dual Italian and Albanian citizenship. De Biasi was the first coach of the Albania national team to lead th ...

. Baggio managed 12 goals and 9 assists during the 2002–03 season, helping Brescia to an eighth-place finish and another

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

spot. He scored his 300th career goal from a penalty on 15 December 2002, in Brescia's 3–1 home victory over

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

, also setting-up one of

Igli Tare Igli Tare (; born 25 July 1973) is an Albanian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He is the sporting director at Serie A club Lazio. Tare joined Partizani Tirana as a 9-year-old in 1982, and would later go on to make his ...

's goals. In the 2003–04 season, the final season of his career, Baggio recorded 12 goals and 11 assists. He scored his 200th goal in Serie A in a 2–2 draw against Parma on 14 March 2004, saving Brescia from relegation, as they finished the season in 11th place. Baggio was the first player in almost 30 years to surpass the 200-goal milestone, and is currently only one of seven players to have accomplished the feat. Baggio scored his final and 205th Serie A career goal on the second last matchday, in a 2–1 home win over Coppa Italia winners Lazio on 9 May 2004; he also set up Brescia's first goal in that match. Baggio played his last career match on 16 May 2004 on the final matchday of the season at the

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

against Milan, which ended in a 4–2 loss to the Serie A champions; during the game, he set-up

Matuzalém Matuzalém Francelino da Silva (born 10 June 1980), commonly known as just Matuzalém, is a Brazilian football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder. Club career Early career Matuzalém began his career at Salvador-based Vitó ...

's second goal. In the 88th minute, De Biasi substituted Baggio, prompting the 80,000 present at the San Siro to give him a standing ovation; Milan's captain, defender

Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...

, who was Baggio's former teammate both with the Italy national team and Milan, also embraced him before he left the pitch. With Brescia, Baggio scored 46 goals in 101 appearances in all competitions, scoring 45 goals in 95 Serie A appearances, and one goal in two European matches. Baggio also made four Coppa Italia appearances with Brescia. Baggio retired as Brescia's all-time leading goalscorer in Serie A. He ended his career with 205 goals in Serie A, making him the seventh-highest scorer of all time, behind Silvio Piola, Francesco Totti (who overtook him in 2011),

Gunnar Nordahl Nils Gunnar Nordahl (; 19 October 1921 – 15 September 1995) was a Swedish professional footballer. A highly prolific, powerful, and physically strong striker, with an eye for goal, he is best known for his spell at AC Milan from 1949 to 1956, ...

, Giuseppe Meazza,

José Altafini José João Altafini (; born 24 July 1938), also known as "Mazzola" in Brazil (as when he started to play it was noted that he resembled the Italian legend Valentino Mazzola), is an Italian-Brazilian former footballer, who played as a forward. ...

, and

Antonio Di Natale Antonio Di Natale (; born 13 October 1977) is an Italian fotball coach and former professional player who played as a striker. After being a member of the Empoli youth side since 1994, Di Natale started his professional career with the Empoli ...

(who overtook him in 2015). Baggio's number 10 shirt was

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by Brescia in his honour, and he is considered the club's greatest ever player. Before Baggio had joined Brescia, they had never been able to avoid relegation after being newly promoted to Serie A, in over 40 years. During the four years under Baggio, Brescia recorded their best ever Serie A run and were never relegated.

International career

Youth career and senior debut

Baggio totalled 27 goals in 56 caps for his

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

at senior level, making him Italy's fourth-highest all-time goalscorer, tied with Del Piero, who managed the tally in 91 appearances. At youth level, he was capped for the Italy U16 on four occasions in 1984, scoring three goals. Under

Cesare Maldini Cesare Maldini (; 5 February 1932 – 3 April 2016) was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender. Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Triestin ...

, he was called up for one Italy under-21 match against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

on 16 October 1987, although he was an unused substitute, and strangely failed to make an appearance for the ''azzurrini''. His first senior International call-up was given to him by manager

Azeglio Vicini Azeglio Vicini (; 20 March 1933 – 30 January 2018) was an Italian football coach and player, who also served as the President of the Technical Sector of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). One of Italy's most important coaches during ...

, and he made his first appearance for Italy on 16 November 1988 at age 21 in a 1–0 friendly victory over the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, assisting Gianluca Vialli's match-winning goal. He scored his first goal for Italy on 22 April 1989, from a free-kick in a 1–1 draw against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

in an international friendly in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

. Later that year, in his following international appearance in Italy's friendly against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, held in Cesena on 20 September, he scored his first brace for Italy in a 4–0 victory, also later assisting

Andrea Carnevale Andrea Carnevale (; born 12 January 1961) is an Italian former footballer, who played as a forward. Club career After playing for various Italian teams, Carnevale enjoyed notable success with Napoli from 1986 to 1990, playing alongside Diego ...

's goal with a cross from a free kick, and contributing to Nikolay Iliev's own goal by setting-up Vialli, whose shot was subsequently deflected by the Bulgarian defender.

1990 FIFA World Cup

Baggio was called up for his first World Cup tournament in 1990, on home soil. Baggio was often used as a substitute, appearing in five matches, but only starting in four of them, as Italy manager Azeglio Vicini preferred the more experienced Gianluca Vialli. Baggio was still able to display his ability throughout the tournament, and Vicini's decision not to use him more frequently was later criticised, as Baggio's creative combinations with

Salvatore Schillaci Salvatore Schillaci (; born 1 December 1964), commonly referred to by his nickname Totò, is an Italian former professional association football, footballer, who played as a striker (association football), striker. During his club career, he pl ...

were praised. Baggio scored twice during the tournament, including the "goal of the tournament" in a 2–0 win in his first competitive international fixture, in Italy's final group match against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. The goal, which drew him comparisons with Giuseppe Meazza, involved an exchange with

Giuseppe Giannini Giuseppe Giannini (; born 20 August 1964) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent the majority of his 15-year playing career with A.S. Roma, and was regarded by supporters as a club symbol, before his ...

on the left wing, followed by a dribbling run from midfield, in which Baggio beat several players, wrong-footing the last defender with a

feint Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...

, before putting the ball past the goalkeeper. This goal was later recognised as the seventh-best goal in World Cup history in a

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

poll.

In the round of 16 match against Uruguay, which Italy won 2–0, Baggio started the play which led to Italy's first goal, scored by Schillaci. Baggio also scored a goal from a direct free-kick, but it was disallowed as the referee had awarded an indirect free-kick. Baggio also had a goal incorrectly ruled offside in the quarter-final against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, which Italy won 1–0; Baggio was once again involved in the build-up which led to Schillaci's match winning goal. Italy were eliminated on penalties against defending champions

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the semi-finals after a 1–1 draw, although Baggio was able to score his penalty in the shootout. Baggio had come off the bench in the second half for Giannini, and came close to winning the match with a free-kick, but it was saved by

Sergio Goycochea Sergio Javier Goycochea (; born 17 October 1963) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is best known for helping his country reach the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final with his penalty kick saves. Career Goyco ...

. In the bronze medal match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Baggio returned to the starting line-up, playing behind Schillaci. He scored Italy's first goal of the match after stealing the ball from

Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...

.

David Platt David Andrew Platt (born 10 June 1966) is an English former professional football coach and player, who played as a midfielder. Born in Chadderton, Lancashire, Platt began his career as an apprentice at Manchester United before moving to Crewe ...

momentarily equalised, but with five minutes left on the clock, Baggio set up Schillaci, who was fouled inside the area by Paul Parker. Although Baggio was the regularly designated penalty taker for his national team, he stepped aside to allow Schillaci to score and capture the Golden Shoe, a gesture which was praised by the Italian media. Baggio assisted a goal by

Nicola Berti Nicola Berti (; born 14 April 1967) is an Italian former footballer, who played as a midfielder. Berti's career spanned three decades, during which he played for several clubs: after beginning his career with Parma, he played with Fiorentina, an ...

in the dying minutes of the match, but it was incorrectly ruled offside. Italy won the match 2–1, capturing the third place medal. Following the World Cup, Baggio was not called up often by Vicini for the Euro 1992 Qualification matches, only making three appearances and scoring two goals as Italy failed to qualify for the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

, finishing second in their qualifying group behind the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

.

1994 FIFA World Cup

Under Italy's new manager, Arrigo Sacchi, Baggio was his team's top scorer during their qualifying campaign for the 1994 World Cup, scoring five goals of the team's 14 goals in the eight games in also providing seven assists. He helped Italy top their group and qualify for the 1994 World Cup, notably contributing to

Dino Baggio Dino Baggio (born 24 July 1971) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Throughout his career, he played for several Italian clubs, and won the UEFA Cup three times, twice with Parma and once with Juven ...

's winner in the decisive final group match against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, which secured Italy's place in the final competition. One of his best performances during the qualifying campaign occurred on 14 October 1992 against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

; Italy were trailing 2–0 at home and Baggio led his team to a 2–2 draw comeback, scoring a goal. Under Sacchi, Baggio made his first and only starting appearance as Italy's captain in the 1994 World Cup qualifying match in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on 18 November 1992. However, he was substituted off in the final minutes of the 0–0 draw after injuring his rib. Despite a series of injuries prior to the tournament, Baggio was expected to be one of the stars of the 1994 World Cup, entering the competition as the reigning Ballon d'Or winner and FIFA World Player of the Year, and at the peak of his career; after a lacklustre start, he led his team to the final with three match winning performances in the knockout rounds, wearing the number 10 shirt, and scoring five goals in the process.Leggende Azzurre: Roberto Baggio In a disappointing first match against Republic of Ireland at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted sp ...

,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, Italy were defeated 1–0. In the second match against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, he appeared more inspired; however, Italy goalkeeper

Gianluca Pagliuca Gianluca Pagliuca (; born 18 December 1966) is an Italian football coach and former professional goalkeeper. He is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and one of Italy's best keepers ever. Throughout his c ...

was sent off for handling the ball outside the area.

Luca Marchegiani Luca Marchegiani (; born 22 February 1966) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He represented several Italian clubs throughout his career, in particular Torino and Lazio, where he won various titles. At inter ...

was brought in to replace him, and Arrigo Sacchi decided to sacrifice Baggio in what produced an outcry amidst the fans. Baggio later stated that Sacchi was "crazy." Italy won the match 1–0. Italy continued to disappoint, as their final group match ended in a 1–1 draw against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and he again failed to influence the result. The Italians finished third in their group, drawing much criticism from the press, and only advancing from the first round as the fourth-best third-placed team; Juventus president

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...

famously called Baggio ''un coniglio bagnato'' ("a wet rabbit"), referring to his despondent demeanour, hoping the jab would spur him on to score. After under-performing during the group stage, Baggio refound his form in the knockout stages, where he scored five memorable goals. He scored two in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, helping a ten-man Italy defeat

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

2–1 at

Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England Pa ...

in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, after trailing for most of the match. He scored his first goal of the match with two minutes left on the clock, after receiving ball at the edge of the area from

Roberto Mussi Roberto Mussi (; born 25 August 1963) is an Italian former professional footballer, who played as a defender; a versatile player, he was capable of playing both as a centre-back or right-back. Due to his dynamism, tenacity, work-rate, and tec ...

. He then went on to score the winning goal from a penalty in extra time after setting up

Antonio Benarrivo Antonio Benarrivo (; born 21 August 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender. One of the best players in the world in his position in the 1990s, Benarrivo was an energetic attacking full-back capable of opera ...

with a lobbed pass, who was then fouled in the penalty area. Baggio scored another match-winning goal in the quarter-finals to defeat

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

2–1 with three minutes remaining. After receiving the ball from

Giuseppe Signori Giuseppe "Beppe" Signori (; born 17 February 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for several clubs in Italy throughout his career, and also had spells in Greece and Hungary with Iraklis Thessal ...

, he dribbled past the Spanish goalkeeper

Andoni Zubizarreta Andoni Zubizarreta Urreta (, ; born 23 October 1961) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. The all-time most capped player for the Spain national team for several years, he played with individual and team succ ...

, scoring off-balance from a tight angle. He was also involved in the build-up which led to Italy's first goal by his unrelated namesake Dino Baggio. Baggio gave a man of the match performance in the semi-finals; he scored two more goals to beat

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

2–1 at Giants Stadium, leading Italy to the World Cup final for the first time in 12 years. He scored his first goal after beating two players and curling the ball from outside the area into the bottom-right corner. His second was scored with a half volley from a tight angle, assisted by

Demetrio Albertini Demetrio Albertini (; born 23 August 1971) is the sporting director of Parma and a former professional Italian football midfielder and vice-president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). He is widely considered one of the legends of the A. ...

with a lobbed ball. Baggio was not fully fit for the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

at the Rose Bowl in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, after pulling his hamstring during the semi-final and playing with the aid of a painkiller injection. Despite being far less dominant than in previous matches, he still tested Brazilian goalkeeper

Cláudio Taffarel Cláudio André Mergen Taffarel (; born 8 May 1966) is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is the goalkeeping coach of English Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team. During an 18-year career he p ...

and was able to set up a few chances for his teammates. The match ended 0–0 after extra time; he took Italy's last penalty in the resulting shootout, but he put the decisive spot-kick over the cross-bar, which meant the Brazilians won the title, resulting in one of the most upsetting moments in World Cup history, and a miss with which his career would frequently become associated. Baggio has described the infamous miss as the worst moment of his career, stating that it affected him for years. In his autobiography, when recounting the miss, he later reflected: "Penalties are only missed by those who have the courage to take them." Before him, two other Italians,

Franco Baresi Franchino Baresi (; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining t ...

and

Daniele Massaro Daniele Emilio Massaro (; born 23 May 1961) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward. He is mainly remembered for his highly successful career with AC Milan during the late 1980s and 1990s, under managers Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio C ...

, had already missed penalties. Having led Italy to the final with his memorable performances, Baggio received the Silver Ball as the second-best player of the tournament, behind

Romário Romário de Souza Faria Figueiredo (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and a former professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 750 goals and was ...

, and also finished tied for second in goals scored throughout the tournament, although he missed out on the

Bronze Boot Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

, which went to

Kennet Andersson Bernt Kennet Andersson (born 6 October 1967) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Starting off his career with IFK Eskilstuna in the mid-1980s, he went on to play professionally in Sweden, Belgium, France, Italy, ...

and Romário. He was also named in the World Cup All-Star Team. Baggio finished runner-up for the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...

, with 136 points from a possible 245, and third place for the

FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...

in 1994. Despite Baggio's association with missing the decisive penalty in the 1994 World Cup final shoot-out, former ''Telelatino'' broadcaster Alf De Blasis stated in 2010 that he believed that Baggio's performance throughout the entire tournament cemented his legacy as a footballer; he also stated that one of his favourite World Cup memories was Baggio's performance against Nigeria in the round of 16 of the tournament, commenting: "Roberto Baggio put the Azzurri on his shoulders and carried them to victory, scoring the tying goal on a wonderful solo effort late in the match and then the winning goal on a penalty in extra time. Baggio, of course, would go on to lead Italy to the final, where he is remembered for an unfortunate miss from the penalty spot. Truly a bittersweet World Cup for one of the game's greatest stars, but a World Cup that I think defined his legacy in the game." Reflecting on Baggio's performance at the 1994 World Cup in 2001, Stefano Bozzi of BBC Sport stated: "At the USA 94 World Cup, [Baggio] single-handedly hauled Italy to the final." In 2006, the BBC described him as "Italy's best player throughout the [1994] tournament." In 2017, Emmet Gates instead described Baggio's run-up to the 1994 World Cup final with Italy as "the greatest show of individual excellence since another equally majestic number ten [Maradona] dominated the 1986 FIFA World Cup, 1986 tournament." When summarising Baggio's 1994 World Cup in 2018, Ed Dove of ''ESPN FC'' stated that "' e Divine Ponytail' had arguably been the outstanding player of the tournament, bailing Italy out on numerous occasions, but his inspirational touch deserted him when it mattered most." His colleague Nick Miller instead stated that "Roberto Baggio was the best player at the 1994 World Cup, dragging Italy to the final virtually on his own."

Post-World Cup

After the 1994 World Cup, Italy head coach Arrigo Sacchi and Baggio infamously fell out. Their relationship deteriorated in September 1994 following a 1–1 draw against Slovenia national football team, Slovenia in a UEFA Euro 1996 qualification, Euro 1996 qualifying match, where Baggio was benched. After a 2–1 defeat to Croatia national football team, Croatia in a Euro 1996 qualifying match in November, their relationship hit the breaking point, and Baggio, supported by his teammates, asked for the manager's dismissal. Due to his disagreements with Sacchi, Baggio was called up to the national team less frequently, only making one more substitute appearance in a 1–0 home win against Slovenia in a Euro 1996 qualifier in September 1995. He eventually lost his spot in the squad, missing out on Italy's UEFA Euro 1996, Euro 1996 squad, despite winning the ''scudetto'' that year with Milan. Sacchi justified his decision by stating Baggio was not fully fit, and that Enrico Chiesa helped the team more when possession was lost. Italy were eliminated in the group stage of the competition. Baggio was also excluded from Cesare Maldini's Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Italian Olympic squad in 1996.

1998 FIFA World Cup

After a lengthy absence from the national team, Baggio was called up by Cesare Maldini for a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), World Cup qualifying match against Poland national football team, Poland on 30 April 1997, in Naples; Baggio came off the bench and scored a goal in a 3–0 win. He was subsequently selected as one of Italy's 22 players for the 1998 World Cup following his performances with Bologna. In Italy's opening match of the 1998 World Cup in France, against Chile national football team, Chile, Baggio started alongside Christian Vieri, playing all 90 minutes, as Alessandro Del Piero was still recovering from an injury. Vieri opened the scoring from a Baggio assist, but Chile managed to equalise and take the lead through Marcelo Salas. Baggio created several chances, but Italy were unable to equalise. Towards the end of the match, Baggio played a low cross into the box which unintentionally touched Chilean defender Ronald Fuentes's hand at the edge of the penalty area, resulting in a fortunate penalty for Italy. Despite missing the decisive penalty in the 1994 World Cup final shootout, Baggio stepped up to take the penalty, and he scored Italy's equalising goal, becoming the first Italian player to score in three World Cups. This was the first penalty he had taken for Italy since the 1994 World Cup final miss; Baggio described the goal as "liberating." In Italy's 3–0 second group match win over Cameroon national football team, Cameroon, Baggio assisted Luigi Di Biagio's opening goal with a cross following a corner; however, he was replaced by Del Piero during the second half after sustaining a minor injury. Baggio scored his second goal of the tournament in Italy's final group match against Austria national football team, Austria, which ended in a 2–1 win to Italy. Baggio came on during the second half, replacing Del Piero, after the crowd had begun to chant his name. He scored the winning goal of the match, after combining with Francesco Moriero and Filippo Inzaghi, as Italy topped their group. With this goal, he tied Paolo Rossi's record for most goals by an Italian player in the World Cup finals, with nine; this was also his 27th and final goal for Italy. He was left on the bench for the round of 16 win over Norway as Italy advanced to the quarter-finals. In the quarter-final match against eventual champions

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Baggio came on as a substitute for Del Piero in the second half, and managed to create some scoring opportunities. The score remained 0–0, and the match went to extra time, although Baggio came the closest to scoring the golden goal, with a volley from a lobbed pass by Albertini, but his shot was put just wide of Fabien Barthez's far post. The match eventually went to a penalty shootout. Although Baggio converted his penalty Italy's first, the shootout was won by the host nation and Italy was eliminated from a World Cup on penalties for the third consecutive time. Italy's coach was criticised for starting the recovering Del Piero ahead of Baggio, and for not allowing the two players to play alongside each other. Despite rumours that the substitutions had created a rivalry between the players, Baggio and Del Piero remain friends. In 2008, Baggio stated that he has great respect for Del Piero, and that there had never been disagreements between them. In turn, Del Piero expressed his admiration for Baggio in 2011.

Later career

Baggio was initially a regular squad member under Dino Zoff, appearing as a substitute in two UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying matches, and in a 2–0 win against Wales national football team, Wales in 1998, setting up a goal for Vieri; and in a 1–1 draw against Belarus national football team, Belarus in 1999. Baggio made a starting appearance in a 0–0 friendly draw against Norway in 1999, creating several chances, helping to set-up a goal which was ruled offside, and hitting the post from a free-kick. However, he was later dropped from the squad after Inter's poor 1998–99 season, and he was not called up for UEFA Euro 2000 due to his limited playing time during the 1999–2000 season, and accusations made against his fitness. Zoff centred his squad around younger offensive players, such as Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero, Stefano Fiore, Marco Delvecchio, Filippo Inzaghi and Vincenzo Montella. Baggio was voted Italy's ''Player of the Century'' in 2000. Baggio was controversially excluded from Italy's

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

squad by coach Giovanni Trapattoni, who believed him to not have fully recovered from the serious injury he had sustained during the season. Although he was initially keen to include Baggio in the final 23-man list, he ultimately excluded him from the squad; Baggio had made a direct appeal to him prior to the tournament by writing him a letter. Fans and pundits criticised the omission, as Italy were eliminated by co-hosts South Korea national football team, South Korea in the round of 16. Many fans hoped to see him play for Italy at UEFA Euro 2004, Euro 2004, or with the Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament, 2004 Olympic squad that eventually managed a bronze medal, but this was not to be the case. However, he was given an international send-off by Trapattoni at age 37 in a friendly match against Spain on 28 April 2004, in which he wore the number 10 shirt for the final time, as well as the captain's armband for part of the match. Although Baggio entertained the crowd with his creativity and skill, he was unable to score, despite winning a free-kick from which Vieri's equalising goal arose. The match finished 1–1 and Baggio was given a standing ovation after being substituted off for Fabrizio Miccoli. This was Baggio's 56th and final match for Italy, and it was the first time an Italian footballer's career had been celebrated this way since Silvio Piola retired. Baggio is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups with nine career World Cup goals, putting him equal with Christian Vieri and

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden ...

as Italy's top World Cup goalscorers. Despite his performances for Italy in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, 1990, 1994 FIFA World Cup, 1994, and 1998 World Cups, he never played for Italy in the UEFA European Championships, and is currently the Italian player with the most caps without playing in a European Championship.

Player profile

Style of play

Described as a ''fantasista'', ''trequartista'', ''mezzapunta'', or ''rifinitore'' throughout his career in the Italian media, due to his role on the pitch and creative playing style, Baggio was a world class playmaker with an eye for goal, who was renowned for his elegance, grace, fluidity, vision, creativity, ability to read the game, Cross (football), crossing accuracy, and passing ability, which made him an excellent assist provider; however, he usually played as a Deep-lying forward, second striker throughout his career, as he was known for scoring goals as well as Assist (football), creating them. This led Michel Platini to describe him as a "9 and a half", namely a player whose role lay half-way between that of a forward and a midfielder, as he was not a true number 9 (the shirt number usually associated with a striker), due to his creative ability, but he scored more than a number 10 (the shirt number commonly associated with an advanced playmaker), a description which often saw him identified with the role of an Forward (association football)#Inside forward, inside forward. He also stated that Baggio's playing style coincided with the re-emergence of the attacking midfielder in Italy during the early 2000s; indeed, he served as an inspiration to many future players. ROBERTO BAGGIO LANEROSSI VICENZA BIANCOROSSO

ROBERTO BAGGIO LANEROSSI VICENZA BIANCOROSSO

Baggio was a tactically versatile player, with a good understanding of the game, and was comfortable attacking on either Forward (association football)#Winger, 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 A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

, 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 Forward (association football)#Striker, 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 Midfielder#Wide midfielder, wide midfielder, or even in Midfielder#Central midfielder, central midfield as a ''Midfielder#Mezzala, mezzala'' or Midfielder#Deep-lying playmaker, deep-lying playmaker on rarer instances. During the lead-up to the 1994 World Cup, he was also initially employed by Italy's manager Arrigo Sacchi as a Forward (association football)#Centre-forward, 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 Forward (association football)#False 9, 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 Volley (football), volleyer, and he had a penchant for scoring from Chip (association football), 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 1994 World Cup final shootout, Baggio was also a Penalty kick (association football), 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 Dummy (football), 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 in 2004, Sacchi stated: "Baggio is creativity, flair, unpredictability, intuition, harmony." In 2016, Rob Smyth of ''The Guardian'' praised Baggio for his "instinctive intelligence," when commenting on his playing style, also describing him as a "conductor" on the pitch "who knew when and how to change the tempo of an attack."

Reception

Considered by pundits to be a highly promising prospect in his youth, Baggio later established himself as one of the best players of his generation, and as one of Italy's greatest players ever; Baggio is regarded by many in the sport, including his former Milan manager Fabio Capello, as the best Italian footballer of all-time, and by many in the sport, as one of the greatest players in the history of the game. Italian journalist Gianni Brera, who had observed both Giuseppe Meazza and Gianni Rivera, stated that Baggio was the best Italian player he had ever seen. During his time at Juventus, the club's former chairman, Gianni Agnelli, referred to Baggio as an "artist", comparing his elegance to the painter ''Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, Raffaello'', while he described the emerging talent Alessandro Del Piero as ''Pinturicchio''. In a 2011 interview with ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'', Del Piero stated that Baggio, along with Zinedine Zidane, was the best player with whom he had ever played, a view shared by Baggio's fellow former Juventus teammate Angelo Peruzzi and his former Brescia teammate Pep Guardiola in 2010, as well as his former Inter teammate Javier Zanetti in 2020, while Matthew Le Tissier named Baggio as his best ever opponent in 2012. In 2017, Baggio's former teammate Ravanelli instead labelled Baggio as the greatest player of all time. In 1993, Giampiero Boniperti stated that he believed that Baggio was "already one of the greatest number tens ever." In 2018, Cathal Kelly of ''The Globe and Mail'' described Baggio playing in the 1994 World Cup as "the best player in the world" at the time, while ''The Guardian'' described him as " e definitive player of the decade", also adding that "the 1990s belonged to Il Divin Codino", and labelled him as "probably the finest player in the world between 1992 and 1995." In 2015, Les Carpenter of ''The Guardian'' described Baggio as "perhaps the greatest player of his time," while his colleague Emmet Gates dubbed him "the best player of his generation." In 2010, Marco Gori of ''TuttoMercatoWeb'' labelled Baggio as "one of the best footballers in history." Throughout his career, pundit Gianni Brera compared his playing style to that of Italian former footballer Giuseppe Meazza, while manager Trapattoni instead compared Baggio's technical characteristics to other former number 10s such as Zico, Platini, and Juan Alberto Schiaffino. In 2017, Baggio received praise from numerous sporting figures and pundits ahead of his 50th birthday, with Stefano Edel of ''La Gazzetta di Mantova'' describing Baggio as "the Italian Maradona", and echoing Sacchi's words prior to the 1994 World Cup, when he compared Baggio's importance to Italy with that of Maradona to Argentina. Zico described him as "one of the best players in the history of Italian football", while Tommaso Pellizzari of ''Il Corriere della Sera'' called him "the greatest pure talent of Italian football." James McHie of ''Calciomercato.com'' instead named him as Italy's greatest player, calling him "the greatest player [...] to pull on the Azzurri shirt", a view shared by Stefano Discreti of ''Mediaset'', who called Baggio "the best Italian footballer of all time" in 2019. Also in 2017, Giuseppe Bergomi described Baggio as "extraordinary" and as a "pure talent", who was "devastating when he played because he was capable of deciding games on his own." In 2004, Gianni Rivera described him as "one of the greatest Italian footballers ever." In 2019, Marco Gentile of ''Il Giornale'' described Baggio as "one of the best Italian [...] players in the history of football", and also as "one of the best players in the history of world football." In 2020, Luca Stamerra of ''Eurosport'' described him as one of the "best number 10s in the history of this sport." In 2019, his former Italy manager Dino Zoff listed Baggio as one of the best players he ever coached, while his former Fiorentina manager Sven-Göran Eriksson named him as the most talented player he had ever coached alongside Wayne Rooney in 2021, commenting: "He had everything: incredible technique, vision, pace." In 2019, author Paolo Condò ranked Baggio among the greatest players of all time, a view shared by Emmanuel Amunike in 2020 as well as Roberto Mancini and John Keilman of the ''Chicago Tribune'', who both described Baggio as one of the "all-time greats" in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Former RAI commentator Bruno Pizzul, who served as a pundit for the Italy national team's World Cup matches between 1986 and 2002, named Baggio as his favourite player, and as one of the best footballers he ever saw, among both Italian and non-Italian players. In 2020, Matteo Marani of ''La Stampa'' dubbed Baggio as "one of the purest expressions of talent that world football has produced", also adding "Roberto was the game of football in its pureness. The beauty of one of his technical gestures, the polished movements, the speed of thought. Throughout his career he painted football, filling the eyes of those who were passionate about this sport and not only of the fans of the clubs whose shirts he wore. Vicenza, Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan, Bologna, Inter, Brescia and the Italian national team enjoyed his talent, his strength and his goals. Roberto Baggio is undoubtedly one of the names that made football great." Known for his dislike of the defensive, physical and tactical nature of Italian football in the 1990s, Baggio drew criticism from certain pundits and some of his managers for his limited defensive work-rate when possession was lost, as well as the fact that the athletic part of his game was not his main focus during training sessions in his youth, while in his later career, his physical ailments often forced him to train independently with a personal fitness coach and physiotherapist, rather than with his team; as such, Baggio's Milan manager Capello believed that he was not capable of playing for 90 minutes, due to the precarious physical condition of his knees. Luigi Simoni, one of his Inter managers, lauded Baggio for his work-rate in training, stating in 2009 that he would do up to six or seven hours of gym work a day under his tenure, a view which was also shared by Baggio's former Bologna teammate Daniele Carnasciali in 2013. Carlo Mazzone and Gianni De Biasi, his managers at Brescia, as well as his former teammates Luca Toni and Emanuele Filippini, also praised Baggio for his discipline, professionalism, and dedication in training during his time with the club, with De Biasi calling him "an example." Known to be an introvert in the media, due to his quiet private life and reluctance to give interviews, some in the sport, including Gianni Rivera, argued that Baggio lacked leadership qualities on the pitch, despite having served as captain for both Juventus and Brescia. His personality is thought to have limited him from being more successful, in particular with larger clubs, with some pundits instead arguing that he excelled more with smaller teams; others instead believed that he had a difficult character due to his disagreements with several of his managers throughout his career, although he was generally regarded as a "correct" and co-operative player by officials, and as a classy and well-behaved footballer in the media. Mazzone also said of him: "Baggio was one of the greatest Italian football players of all time. But I can tell you this, he was an even greater man. He was quiet, polite, respectful, humble. He never let his great talent weigh on anyone else. He was a friend who helped me win games on a Sunday." In 1995, Fabio Capello described Baggio as a player who was "decisive." His former teammate Andrea Pirlo instead commented that "[Baggio] was a silent leader, and above all, he was a leader on the pitch. When he played for the team, he made you win the games", also later describing him as a player who "carried his teammates." Despite his talent, success, popularity with the fans, and reputation as one of the greatest players of all time, critical reception of Baggio was occasionally divided throughout his career; this was in part due to his recurring injury struggles, as well as the fact that tactically certain managers struggled to find a suitable playing position for him. His role as a playmaker between the midfield and forward lines, as well as his skilful and creative playing style, were often regarded as being obsolete in modern football, in which managers often favoured the use of the 4–4–2 formation and a more athletic approach to the game; moreover, while Baggio was not an outright forward, he was also thought to lack the stamina to play in Midfielder, midfield, which made him less suited to this particular system, and occasionally led him to be excluded by his managers, although he was ultimately able to adapt to playing as a forward effectively. Baggio's unique playing position, style, and approach to the game, combined with his talent, limited work-rate, and injury struggles, led him to have both many admirers and several detractors. Maradona once described Baggio as "a genius" but also as "a great player who was never able to fulfil his entire potential", something with which Michel Platini concurred, while Pelé instead called him a "legend." A 1994 article on Baggio by ''The Independent'' stated: "Among professionals, [Baggio] is regarded as the best", quoting Ryan Giggs, who said: "You look to Roberto Baggio, and you realise what a good player looks like." However, the newspaper also went on to say that "Baggio's is a brittle influence. There are no half measures in his play. He is either brilliant, or he disappears, looking confused and unhappy. Since Juventus's whole pattern of play depends on him, his disappearances can be tricky. The press has interpreted his inconsistency as a lack of commitment." In 2015, ''The Daily Telegraph'' accused him of going "missing in big games." In 2020, Daniel Story of ''Planet Football'' stated he believed that Baggio was one of the most underrated players of the past 30 years. In 2016, Luke Chandley of ''The Huffington Post'' described Baggio as "Italian football's great oxymoron", noting: "For all the skill he possessed going forward, he was the opposite of the reputation given to Italian football spanning across his whole career. Italian football was defensive know-how and structured play." His former manager Arrigo Sacchi believed that Baggio was often misused by his coaches, and that he would have been an even greater player had he been born abroad, a view which was also held by journalist Mattia Losi, who felt that Baggio would have been more appreciated had he been born in Brazil or Argentina, rather than in a country with a football legacy like Italy's, which often failed to recognise young local talent, and Emmet Gates, who said in 2013 that "Baggio unfortunately was born in the wrong country, or rather, he was born in Italy at the wrong time." Regarding this contrast and Baggio's overall career, Tim Collings of ''The Guardian'' described him as "Italy's greatest player of fantasia" in 2004 but also wrote: "Baggio's record, as a player for club and country, fails to match his reputation. He is less known for his acts of great success than for his injuries, his misfortunes and his courage; he is an artist in sport whose work is appreciated but no longer used in modern currency. Baggio's career is filled by cameos of sublime skill, particular games when his imagination and ability enabled his team to transcend all normal expectations. Yet the lasting memory will be of his missed penalty in the shootout at the end of the 1994 World Cup final in Pasadena." In 2017, Antonio Martelli of ''La Presse (Canadian newspaper), La Presse'' described Baggio as "one of the greatest Italian players of all time maybe the best of the last thirty years", and as "an "authentic champion who could have been even greater without a series of extremely severe knee injuries that undermined his career since its dawning", a view shared by Raffaele Di Fusco, who said "who knows what he could have become without all of those injuries", and also Renzo Ulivieri, who stated that "if he had had fewer injuries, he would have won more." In 2018, Greg Murray of ''Football Italia'' described Baggio as "one of the greatest football players of all time" but also lamented that "we never saw him at full fitness and are fortunate we got to enjoy him at all." He summarised Baggio's career with the following: "It is perhaps one of football’s great injustices that Il Divin Codino is best known globally for his penalty miss in the Final of the 1994 World Cup against Brazil. For fans of Serie A, Baggio is recognised as the best of his generation, despite a career that was blighted by injury and clashes with his Coaches." He also added: "Retiring in 2004, it has been suggested that Baggio was a victim of the era in which he lived. As player with transcendent creativity, but physically fragile, he struggled to fit into his Coaches’ plans during a time when tactics and hard work were everything. Had he been born in the current era, where players are far more protected, he would perhaps have achieved even more. It's heart-breaking to think what we missed out on, but we’re also grateful to have experienced the Divine Ponytail at all." Baggio's career was affected by many serious injuries, which led to a gradual loss of speed and mobility as his career progressed, as well as increasing weight-gain in the final years of his career, which eventually forced him to undergo a training regime in order to build muscle mass in his legs and prolong his career during his time at Brescia; his continual physical struggles ultimately led him to retire in 2004, which he later described as a "liberation." Since suffering his first series of career-threatening injuries with Vicenza and Fiorentina in 1985 and 1986, respectively, he was prone to persistent knee problems in particular, which often limited his playing time; injuries led certain pundits, such as Benedetto Ferrara of ''La Repubblica'' in 2010, to label Baggio as a "superfine talent" but who was also "inconsistent." In 1995, Maurizio Crosetti, Ferrara's colleague, had previously described Baggio as "fragile." Regarding the injuries that threatened his career as a youngster, and which haggled him until he retired, Baggio wrote in his 2001 autobiography that "all of my professional career, I played it with a leg and a half. Thousands of hours of work to keep alive a leg which, if it were up to her, would diminish each day. I played it without being fully all right, ever, because if I were to play matches only when I felt one-hundred percent I would play three matches a year." Despite the numerous physical impairments he faced throughout his career, Baggio also stood out for his longevity, and was able to maintain a consistently high level of performance even in the final years of his career with Brescia into his late 30s. In 2004, Sacchi praised Baggio for his strength of character, which he believed even surpassed his talent, as it allowed him to overcome his injuries and physical struggles, and ultimately "win [his] personal battles against bad luck." In 2017, Capello noted that Baggio had the extraordinary willpower to carry on playing despite his physical struggles. Baggio attributes his inner strength to Buddhism.

Legacy

Maglia di roberto baggio indossata in USA 1994, 01

Widely considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all-time, Baggio came fourth in the 1999

FIFA Player of the Century FIFA Player of the Century was a one-off award created by FIFA to decide the greatest football player of the 20th century, announced at the annual FIFA World gala, held in Rome on 11 December 2000. Diego Maradona and Pelé were joint winners ...

internet poll, and was ranked 16th in ''World Soccer (magazine), World Soccer's'' list of the 100 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 2000. In 2002, Baggio was elected to the

FIFA World Cup Dream Team The FIFA World Cup Dream Team is an all-time FIFA World Cup all-star team published by FIFA in 2002 after conducting an internet poll of fans to select a World Cup dream team. and in 2003, he was the inaugural winner of the

Golden Foot The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 yea ...

award, awarded for ability and personality. In 2004, he was named by

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

in the

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...

list of the world's greatest living players, and was voted 24th in the online UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, celebrating the best European footballers of the past 50 years. In 2010, Baggio was named one of the 50 greatest Juventus legends. In 2011, he was the first footballer to be inducted into the

Italian Football Hall of Fame The Italian Football Hall of Fame ( it, Hall of Fame del calcio italiano) is the hall of fame for association football players that have had a significant impact on Italian football. It is housed at the '' Museo del Calcio'' in Coverciano, Ital ...

. In a 2014 FIFA poll, Baggio was voted the ninth-greatest number 10 of all-time, and later that year he was ranked 24th in ''The Guardians list of the 100 greatest World Cup players of all-time, ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In 2015, 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." ''FourFourTwo'' placed Baggio at number 52 in their 2017 list of the "100 Greatest Footballers Ever" and also named Baggio in 2019 as the sixth best player never to win the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. In July 2019, the same magazine ranked Baggio at number ten in their list of the "101 greatest football players of the last 25 years." In 2020, Jack Gallagher of 90min.com placed Baggio at number nine in his list of "The 50 Greatest Footballers of All Time", while Sky Sports ranked him as the fifth-best player ever never to have won the Champions League or European Cup.

Records and selected statistics

Baggio played in 16 World Cup matches for Italy; the Republic of Ireland is the only nation against which he played more than once. List of FIFA World Cup goalscorers#Italy, He is the joint-highest Italian goalscorer of all-time in the World Cup, with nine goals, alongside Paolo Rossi and Christian Vieri. Baggio is the only Italian to have scored in three World Cups (two goals in 1990, five in 1994 and two in 1998). Three of his World Cup goals were scored in the group stage and six were scored during knockout matches. Baggio is the joint fourth-highest scorer for Italy with 27 goals in 56 appearances, with a 0.48 goal per match average. With Baggio, Italy was always eliminated from the World Cup in penalty shootouts: in 1990, in the semi-finals against Argentina; in 1994, in the final against Brazil; and in 1998, in the quarter-finals against France. Despite his decisive penalty miss in the 1994 World Cup final shoot-out, Baggio is statistically one of the greatest penalty kick specialists in Italian football history, as he scored 85% of his career penalties with only 19 misses, scoring 108 out of 127 penalties in official matches, the most in Italian football history. 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, Italy national football team records#Goalscorers, the most goals scored from the spot by a member of the national team). 68 of his penalties were scored in Serie A, from 83 attempts, with an 82% conversion rate, one of the best records in Serie A history. 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 Football records in Italy#Most goals from a penalty kick, 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 (1990 and 1998), with his only miss in 1994. Although he never won the Serie A top goalscorer title, Baggio is currently the Football records in Italy#Goalscoring, seventh all-time highest scorer in Serie A, with 205 goals in 452 appearances. Of these goals, 96 were decisive (either equalisers or match winners). Alongside Totti, Baggio has also scored the Football records in Italy#Most goals from a free kick, fourth-highest number of free-kicks in Serie A with 21 goals; ahead of him are only Alessando Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, and Siniša Mihajlović. Of his open play goals in Serie A, 84 were with his right foot, 26 with his left, and 6 were headers. He also assisted 123 goals in Serie A. He is the fourth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions, behind Del Piero, Giueseppe Meazza and Silvio Piola, with 318 professional career goals in 699 appearances. Alongside Totti and Alberto Gilardino, he has scored against the most different clubs (38) in Serie A. With eight hat-tricks in Serie A, he has also scored the Football records in Italy#Most hat-tricks in Serie A, joint-tenth most hat-tricks in the history of the Italian league, alongside Amedeo Amadei, Giampiero Boniperti, Hernán Crespo, and Marco van Basten.

After retirement

In August 2010, Baggio was appointed president of the technical sector of the

Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...

, replacing his former Italy national team manager

Azeglio Vicini Azeglio Vicini (; 20 March 1933 – 30 January 2018) was an Italian football coach and player, who also served as the President of the Technical Sector of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). One of Italy's most important coaches during ...

. On 23 January 2013, 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. Baggio obtained his Italy Category 2 Coaching License (UEFA A License) in mid-2011, which made him eligible to coach Lega Pro teams, or work as vice-coach in Serie A and Serie B. On 5 July 2012, Baggio obtained his Category 1 UEFA Pro Licence, UEFA Pro Coaching Licence at Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, Coverciano, which officially allows him to coach a professional Serie A club.

Outside of professional football

Personal life

After his career threatening injury in 1985, 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. We must win" in ideograms of the language. Despite his conversion, he married his long-time girlfriend Andreina Fabbi in 1989 in a traditional Roman Catholic ceremony. They have a daughter, Valentina (1990), and two sons, Mattia (1994) and Leonardo (2005). Between 1991 and 2012, 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 2008 recession. In 2001, Baggio wrote an autobiography entitled ' (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 2002 Serie A Awards. Baggio has close ties with Argentina; he speaks Spanish language, Spanish and owns a ranch property in Rivera, Buenos Aires Province, Rivera, where he enjoys hunting wild game. In March 2008, 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.

Philanthropy

On 16 October 2002, Baggio was named a

Goodwill Ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a public ...

of the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

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 2010

Man of Peace The Man of Peace is an award conceptualized in 1999 by the annual World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome. The purpose of the award is to recognize individuals who "from personalities from the world of culture and entertainment who have stoo ...

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 2008, 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 Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS research. In 2014, Baggio was one of the many celebrities to take part in the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" to raise awareness about the disease and funds for ALS research. On 1 September 2014, 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. On 25 October 2014, Baggio inaugurated in Milan the opening of the largest Buddhist temple in Europe.

Media and popular culture

In 1994, Italian satirist Corrado Guzzanti parodied Baggio's advertisement for Italian Petrol Company IP prior to the 1994 World Cup. Italian poet Giovanni Raboni composed the sonnet "Lode a Baggio" in a tribute to him. He has been referenced in several songs, such as "Baggio, Baggio" by Lucio Dalla, and "Marmellata n. 25" by Cesare Cremonini (singer-songwriter), Cesare Cremonini. Baggio has featured in two Italian commercials which reference his infamous penalty miss in the 1994 World Cup final. The first was made for WIND (Italy), WIND in 2000, and shows Baggio scoring the final penalty to win the tournament. The second, made for Johnnie Walker in 2001, showed how he managed to conquer his grief from the miss by believing in himself and scoring the equalising penalty against Chile in the 1998 World Cup. He has featured in several Diadora commercials, as he endorsed their products. In July 2017, Diadora teamed up with Baggio once again to launch the new Signature Match Winner RB Capsule Collection. Baggio is popular in Japan, and has held close ties with the country since his conversion to Buddhism. He has endorsed several Japanese football video games, such as Human Entertainment's ''Super Formation Soccer 95: della Serie A'', and Sega's ''Virtua Pro Football'' and ''Let's Make a Soccer Team!''. An animated version of himself appeared in the Japanese football cartoon ''Captain Tsubasa'', best known in Italy as ''Che Campioni: Holly & Benji''. In the Channel 4 sitcom ''Father Ted'', Baggio (and Alessandro Costacurta) is mentioned during the 1995 episode "Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest" by Father Dougal McGuire (portrayed by Ardal O'Hanlon), who, when prompted to say the last rites in Latin, ends up saying the footballers' names. (This stems from Graham Linehan and O'Hanlon being fans of ''Football Italia''). In the music video for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2010 World Cup song "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" by Shakira, footage of Baggio's goal against Spain and his penalty miss from the 1994 World Cup are shown. Throughout his career, Baggio has been nicknamed the ''Divin' Codino'' ("Divine Ponytail" in Italian, a reference to the iconic hairstyle he wore for a large part of his career as well as his playing ability and Buddhist beliefs) and Robi, or Roby, by his fans. An alter-ego of his is referenced in the Italian children's comics of "Mickey Mouse" and "Duck Tales" (Topolino) in the volume ''Topolino e il Giallo alla World Cup'' in which he is known as Roberto Paggio. In 2011, Italian sports newspaper ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' issued a collection of DVDs entitled ''Io Che Sarò Roberto Baggio'' recounting his career. Baggio's impact on football has been celebrated with the release of an online game called ''Baggio's Magical Kicks'', in which players try to replicate his accuracy on free-kicks and penalties. In 2015, the arcade game company Konami announced Baggio would feature in their football video game ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2016'' as one of the new myClub Legends. On 3 August 2018, EA Sports announced on their official Twitter account that Baggio would feature in EA Sports' football video game ''FIFA 19'' as one of the new Ultimate Team Icons. In 2019, Netflix announced the development of a documentary on Roberto Baggio in partnership with Mediaset. In March 2021, Netflix released the trailer of a docudrama film on Baggio's career, entitled ''Baggio: The Divine Ponytail'', which was released on 26 May 2021; Andrea Arcangeli portrayed Baggio.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Baggio goal.''

Honours

Juventus *

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

: 1994–95 Serie A, 1994–95 *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

: 1994–95 Coppa Italia, 1994–95 *

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

: 1992–93 UEFA Cup, 1992–93 AC Milan *Serie A: 1995–96 Serie A, 1995–96 Italy *FIFA World Cup: Runner-up 1994 FIFA World Cup, 1994 *FIFA World Cup: Bronze Medal: 1990 FIFA World Cup, 1990 Individual * Guerin d'Oro (Serie C best player): 1985 *

Bravo Award The Bravo Award was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine '' Guerin Sportivo'' to the most outstanding young European footballer. The first winner of the award was Englishman Jimmy Case. The first non-European to win the ...

: 1990 * UEFA Cup Winners' Cup records and statistics#Most goals in a single season, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup top scorer: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1990–91#Top goalscorers, 1990–91 (9 goals) * ''World Soccer (magazine), World Soccers World Player of the Year: 1993 *

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...

: 1993 Ballon d'Or, 1993 ** 2nd place: 1994 Ballon d'Or, 1994 ** 8th place: 1990 Ballon d'Or, 1990 *

FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...

: 1993 FIFA World Player of the Year, 1993 ** 3rd place: 1994 FIFA World Player of the Year, 1994 ** 5th place: 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, 1995 *

Onze d'Or The ''Onze d'Or'' (alternative name: ''Onze Mondial'' European Footballer of the Year) is an association football award given by French magazine '' Onze Mondial'' since 1976. The award honors the best player in Europe, with any player in a European ...

: 1993 ** Onze d'Or, Onze de Bronze: 1994 ** Onze d'Or, Onze d'Argent: 1995 * Onze Mondial, Onze de Onze: 1993, 1994, 1995 * FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Ball, FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 1994 FIFA World Cup#Awards, 1994 * FIFA World Cup awards#All-Star Team, FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1994 FIFA World Cup#All-star team, 1994 * Don Balón Award: 1994 * Onze d'Or, Super Onze d'Or (4th place): 1995 * Serie A top assist-provider: 1995–96 Serie A, 1995–96 (12 assists) * 's Best 50 Players of All Time: 1996 * ''Il Venerdì di Repubblica, Il Venerdìs Best 100 Players of All Time: 1997 (32nd place) * ''World Soccer (magazine), World Soccers World Soccer (magazine)#The Greatest Players of the 20th century, Greatest Players of the 20th Century: 1999 (16th place) * '' Guerin Sportivos Greatest Players of the 20th Century: 1999 (27th place) * IFFHS, IFFHS Italian Player of the 20th Century: 1999 (9th place) * IFFHS, IFFHS European Player of the 20th Century: 1999 (53rd place) * ''France Footballs Football Player of the Century: 1999 (18th place) * ''Placars Best 100 Players of All Time: 1999 (91st place) * FIFA, FIFA XI: 2000, 2002 * Guerin d'Oro: 2000–01 Serie A, 2001 * Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea": 2001 * Gran Galà del Calcio#Serie A Most Loved Player, Gran Galà del Calcio 'Best Football Book' Award: 2001 *

FIFA World Cup Dream Team The FIFA World Cup Dream Team is an all-time FIFA World Cup all-star team published by FIFA in 2002 after conducting an internet poll of fans to select a World Cup dream team. * Gran Galà del Calcio#Serie A Most Loved Player, Gran Galà del Calcio 'Serie A Most Loved Player' Award: 2002 *

Golden Foot The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 yea ...

: 2003 *

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...

: 2004 * UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll: 2004 (24th place) * Giuseppe Prisco Award: 2004 * San Siro Gentleman Nazionale Award: 2004 * ''Placars Best 100 World Cup Players: 2005 (24th place) * Association of Football Statisticians's Best 100 Players of All Time: 2007 (79th place) * AC Milan Hall of Fame *

Man of Peace The Man of Peace is an award conceptualized in 1999 by the annual World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome. The purpose of the award is to recognize individuals who "from personalities from the world of culture and entertainment who have stoo ...

: 2010 *

Italian Football Hall of Fame The Italian Football Hall of Fame ( it, Hall of Fame del calcio italiano) is the hall of fame for association football players that have had a significant impact on Italian football. It is housed at the '' Museo del Calcio'' in Coverciano, Ital ...

: 2011 * Juventus F.C. 50 Club Legends: 2011 * Gentleman di Platino: 2015 * Walk of Fame of Italian sport: 2015 * IFFHS' IFFHS World's Best Player#Men Legends, 48 Football Men's Legend Players Orders :* Cavaliere OMRI BAR

5th Class / Knight: ''Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'': 1991

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* *
Profile at FIGC.it
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baggio, Roberto 1967 births Living people Sportspeople from the Province of Vicenza Italian footballers Association football forwards L.R. Vicenza players ACF Fiorentina players Juventus F.C. players A.C. Milan players Inter Milan players Brescia Calcio players Bologna F.C. 1909 players Serie A players Serie C players UEFA Cup winning players World Soccer Magazine World Player of the Year winners Italy international footballers 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Player of the Year winners Ballon d'Or winners FIFA 100 Italian Buddhists Members of Sōka Gakkai Converts to Sōka Gakkai Converts to Buddhism from Christianity Converts to Buddhism from Roman Catholicism Nichiren Buddhists FAO Goodwill ambassadors Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Footballers from Veneto