Roberto Baggio: the best moments and not so much in a football career
Roberto Baggio (photo below) is consideredone of the most talented and popular football players of the twentieth century. His game was not just virtuosic - it was called a great art, which brought great pleasure to the fans. The long career of the football player is saturated not only with numerous achievements, but also with bitter disappointments. To all fans, he was remembered as a "divine tail". This nickname the player received because of his peculiar hair, which is associated with his Buddhist faith.
Childhood. Carier start
The future famous athlete was born in 1967in the small village of Caldogno (Italy). His father was very fond of cycling and dreamed that his son would deal with it professionally. Despite this, the guy has fallen in love with football since childhood. When he was fourteen, the scouts of a professional team paid attention to him. For Roberto Baggio, the biography of the footballer began with the club Vicenza, which at that time acted in the third-ranked division of the country. It was thanks to his brilliant game that the team increased its status - moved to Serie B. Twelve goals scored in the 1984-1985 season contributed to the transfer of the player to the more famous club "Fiorentina". For the transfer of his leader, Vicenza received an impressive two billion lire compensation at that time.
"Juventus"
Footballer Roberto Baggio completely justifiedhopes of the Florentines for the time that he spent in their composition. As a result, in 1990, for an amount equivalent to 19 million dollars, it was acquired by Juventus from Turin. Already three years after this, the Italian also submitted to the first international trophy - the team became a triumphant for the UEFA Cup. The striker at this time was recognized as the best football player of the world, and also the player of the year in Europe. In 1995, Roberto, along with his club became the champion of Italy.
"Milan"
Whatever it was, a lot of things are being decided in footballmoney. It was because of them, as well as due to the prolonged and pressing pressure of Silvio Berlusconi, Roberto Baggio was sold to Milan in the next season. The forward helped his new club to win the title of the country's champion and established a kind of achievement: he was the first player to win the Italian championship twice in a row as part of different teams.
"Bologna"
At the age of thirty, the forward hopedto prove to everyone that it's too early to write off, so he signed a contract with the less famous club "Bologna". During the season, he managed to score 22 goals scored, in connection with which the player was invited to go to the 1998 World Cup as part of the national team. On it Italy reached the quarterfinals, where it lost to the hosts of the tournament - the French.
"Internationale"
After the world championship, Roberto Baggio invitedclub "Inter". As time showed, the signing of the contract with this team was not a very good decision, as the coach Marcello Lippi did not give too much credit to an experienced striker. The lack of a permanent game practice led to the loss of an Italian place in the national team. Whatever it was, even the rare appearance of the player on the football field drove the fans into raptures. Total in the "Internationale" football player spent two seasons.
"Brescia"
The final stage of his professionalcareer of the legendary Italian spent in the club "Brescia". Without a doubt, here he was the main star, thanks to which the team was kept in the elite division. Roberto Baggio spent his last official match on May 16, 2004 against AC Milan in his crowded San Siro stadium. The head coach of the team replaced the player on the 88th minute of the match, thereby enabling the fans to hold the player with a standing ovation.
National team
His first match in the T-shirt of the national teamRoberto spent November 16, 1988 against the Dutch, and the last - on April 28, 2004 against the Spaniards. In total, for the national team, he played 56 fights in which 27 times sent the ball into the opponents' goal. However, despite the large number of memorable moments, there is in his biography a match that was remembered by many fans from a negative point of view. This is a post-match penalty, which in the finals of 1994, he missed the goal, did not score to the Brazilians. As a result, the Italian team was only the second.
Achievements
In total, in the framework of Serie A matches forwardhad 205 bouts. By the number of goals scored, he is currently in fifth position. Roberto is the only Italian who scored goals in three world championships. Among other things, he can boast titles of the best player of the world and Europe, the owner of the UEFA Cup, the middle and bronze medalist of the world championships, the winner of the championship and the Italian Cup.
Personal life and social activities
After finishing his professional careerfootballer Roberto Baggio wrote his autobiography, in which he described in detail the numerous conflicts with coaches. Currently, he takes an active part in charity. The legendary player has repeatedly stated that he does not plan to return to football. As for his private life, Roberto is married and has three children.