Roberto Baggio had a fabulous career, in both club teams and national teams.
But after putting his shoes on the shelf, he escaped the sport.
Today he lives a life far from the spotlight of football.
– I’m happy without it, he says.
Roberto Baggio had an incredible club team career in Italy, with games in the country’s biggest clubs. He never tested the wings outside the Italian league, but managed to play for Fiorentina, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter before ending his career in 2004.
Dominated in the World Cup
In Italy, Baggio is ranked as one of the greatest of all time, and for all football lovers who followed major championships in the 90s, Baggio will always have a special place in his heart. He had certainly made an impression already during the 1990 World Cup, not least through an incredible goal against Czechoslovakia, which would later be named the most beautiful goal of the entire World Cup. There was no final that time – but it was four years later.
During the 1994 World Cup, Baggio was perhaps Italy’s – and the whole world’s best player. The year before, he had won the award as the world’s best player, and during the World Cup, the midfielder was in a completely senseless form. He scored five goals in seven games played, and he netted in the quarterfinals, quarterfinals and semifinals, among other places. However, Baggio would perhaps most be remembered for his missed penalty in the final, which greatly influenced Brazil to win World Cup gold.
He does today
Baggio also participated in the 1998 World Cup and then made history as Italy’s top World Cup goal scorer ever, but it was not a resounding success for Italy in general. Six years later, after a few seasons in Brescia, he ended his career with an impressive record of 218 goals in 488 games. Baggio already talked during his career how he longed for another life – and after his career he has, to say the least, withdrawn. For a short period he was about to become a coach, but it did not happen, and he is almost never seen in the media.
Instead, he has moved to the Italian countryside, and lives a life completely without football.
– I’m happy without it, he said in one of the few interviews a few years ago.
He has moved out to get closer to nature.
– Being in direct contact with nature is the most beautiful thing there is. I enjoy the little things, the ones that are ultimately most fulfilling.
Baggio has also received a documentary about himself on Netflix, and he is grateful that people still remember him.
– It is beautiful considering how many years have actually passed. But I think it’s the simplicity that has always captured people. I think many people appreciate how simple I am as a person.
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