Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder. He is also the former president of the technical sector of the Italian Football Federation. A highly skillful creative playmaker and set piece specialist, renowned for his curling free-kicks, dribbling skills, and goalscoring, Baggio is regarded by many as one of the greatest players of all time.
In 1999, Baggio came fourth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, and was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002. In 1993, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players.
Baggio played for Italy in 56 matches and is the joint fourth-highest goalscorer for his national team. He starred in the Italian team that finished third in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. At the 1994 World Cup, he led Italy to the final, 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. Baggio is the only Italian to score in three World Cups, and with nine goals holds the record for most goals scored in World Cup tournaments for Italy, along with Paolo Rossi and Christian Vieri.
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, and is the seventh-highest goalscorer of all time in Serie A, with 205 goals. In 1990, he moved from Fiorentina to Juventus for a world record transfer fee. Baggio won two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia, and a UEFA Cup, playing for seven different Italian clubs during his career (Vicenza, Fiorentina, Juventus, AC Milan, Bologna, Inter Milan, and Brescia).
Baggio is known as ("The Divine Ponytail"), for the hairstyle he wore for most of his career, for his talent, and for his Buddhist beliefs. In 2002, Baggio was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In 2003, he was the inaugural winner of the Golden Foot award. In recognition of his human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in 2010. In 2011, he was the first footballer to be inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.
Early life Roberto Baggio was born in Caldogno, Veneto, the son of Matilde and Florindo Baggio, the sixth of eight siblings. His younger brother, Eddy Baggio, was also a footballer.
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 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 debut with Vicenza on 5 June 1983, a 1–0 home loss against Piacenza, 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, the club with which he retired in 2004. Baggio scored the first professional goal of his career in the Coppa Italia Serie C in a 4–1 away win over Legnano on 30 November 1983. He also made his Coppa Italia debut with the club on 31 August 1983, against Palermo, and he scored his first Coppa Italia goal in a 4–2 away loss to Empoli, 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. Baggio began to draw the attention of larger Italian clubs, in particular Serie A side Fiorentina, 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 (ACL) and the meniscus of his right knee while playing against Rimini 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 as he was sidelined by injury; Fiorentina finished in fifth place in the league and reached the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, with Baggio making his club debut in the latter competition on 29 January 1986, coming on as a second-half substitute for Davide Pellegrini in a 3–1 home win over Udinese in the round of 16. He finally made his Serie A debut the following season on 21 September 1986, in a 2–0 home win against Sampdoria, and he also made his European debut that season on 17 September 1986, in a 1–0 home win in an UEFA Cup 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. Baggio returned, and scored his first league goal from a free-kick on 10 May 1987 in a 1–1 draw against Diego Maradona's Napoli, the eventual Serie A champions; Baggio's equaliser saved Fiorentina from relegation.
Baggio led Fiorentina to a Coppa Italia quarter-final during the 1988–89 season under manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, 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, finishing third in the capocannoniere (top goalscorer) title. He also helped Fiorentina finish in seventh place in Serie A and win an UEFA Cup spot, assisting the only goal by Roberto Pruzzo in the tiebreak qualifier against Roma. He formed a notable attacking partnership with Stefano Borgonovo, 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 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, only to be defeated by his future club, Juventus. Baggio scored 1 goal in 12 appearances in the competition, in a round of 16 1–0 home win against Dynamo Kyiv, 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 against Atlético Madrid. With 17 goals, Baggio was the second-highest goalscorer in the 1989–90 Serie A season after Marco van Basten, and was awarded the Bravo Award 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. Following the transfer, there were riots on the streets of Florence, 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 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.
In this first season at Juventus, Baggio scored 14 goals and provided 12 assists in Serie A, often playing behind the forwards under Luigi Maifredi, although Juventus finished in seventh place in Serie A, outside the European qualification spots. However, Juventus did reach the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup that year, a tournament in which Baggio was top scorer with nine goals, bringing his seasonal total to 27 goals. Juventus would ultimately be eliminated by Johan Cruyff's Barcelona "Dream Team". Juventus were also eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia to eventual winners Roma, with Baggio scoring three goals. Juventus also lost the Supercoppa Italiana against Napoli at the beginning of the season; Baggio scored Juventus's only goal from a free-kick. Baggio made his 100th Serie A appearance in a 0–0 draw against Lazio on 21 October 1990.
In his second season, under new manager Giovanni Trapattoni, Baggio finished runner-up to Marco van Basten for the Serie A top scorer title, scoring 18 goals and providing 8 assists, as Juventus finished runners-up to Fabio Capello's AC Milan in Serie A, and to Parma in the Coppa Italia final, in which Baggio scored in his club's 1–0 victory in the first leg from a penalty. 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.