Starting his career at Vicenza, Roberto Baggio had already showed his potential at an early stage, demonstrating his talent and despite his young age, he deserved a shot at the first team. At just 16 years of age, he made his senior debut with the club in the then-Serie C1, the third tier of Italian football. This was in the 1982/83 season. Baggio’s name was already a talking point amongst football scouts and experts, having scored more than 100 goals in roughly 150 matches within the youth stages. Baggio kept impressing everyone, and in 1985, he was voted as the Best Player in Serie C1, at just 19 years of age. It was at this stage that Fiorentina acquired his skills.
At Fiorentina, he kept improving day after day, becoming a symbol for this club and he started being considered as a huge prospect for Italian football. At the age of 21, Roberto Baggio made his Italian national team debut. It was love at first sight in Firenze! The fans loved his character and passion shown on the pitch. His talent and skill were something they have rarely (or never) seen before. His goal from a free-kick against Napoli which helped Fiorentina avoid relegation is probably one of the biggest memories the "Viola’ fans will cherish forever. They loved Baggio; they wanted him to remain in Firenze.
But much to their disappointment, in 1990, precisely on the 18th of May, Fiorentina announced that they had sold Roberto Baggio to Juventus for 25 "miliardi’, the Italian currency at the time. Some Fiorentina fans called Baggio a traitor, but most of them blamed the administration for not being able to keep such a fantastic player at the club. A number of fans were so angry that they disrupted the Italian national team’s training session at Coverciano, where Baggio was present to prepare for the 1990 World Cup. Despite all the anger, their hearts could never let the Fiorentina fans hate Baggio. He gave them so much. He respected them, and they all loved him.
“I still remember that scene. During the press conference, after Baggio signed for Juventus, somebody threw a Juventus scarf at Baggio. Roberto, however, decided not to wear it as a sign of respect to Fiorentina fans, much to the surprise of the present journalists. I was also stunned at the gesture. To me, it seemed as if I was looking at a child who has been taken away from his father. He loved Fiorentina that much.” – His agent, Antonio Caliendo.
Meanwhile, during the 1990 World Cup, Italy was eliminated in the semis by Argentina, after an intense penalty shoot-out. Baggio had a fantastic tournament; fans around the world witnessed and appreciated his amazing talent. The highlight of Baggio’s 1990 World Cup was his splendid goal against Czechoslovakia, which was later voted as the best goal of the whole tournament.
It was at the Italian giants, Juventus, where Baggio started winning his first senior trophies. In Turin, he won the Scudetto twice, an Italian Cup, and a UEFA Cup. He also won various personal awards, most notably the Golden Ball, the FIFA World Player of the Year and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1993. However, at this club, he was very unlucky to suffer from a number of serious injuries.
Making a name for himself as one of the best players in the World, if not the best, football fans had high expectations for him in the 1994 World Cup. He was about to play this tournament at probably his best time of his career. He scored important goals throughout the 1994 World Cup against Nigeria, Bulgaria and Spain, helping Italy to reach the final of the tournament, where they would face favourites, Brazil.
Against Brazil, Baggio did the impossible and played for 120 minutes despite a muscle strain suffered in the semis. It was then throughout the penalty shoot-out where Baggio did the unthinkable, something that nobody in the world was expecting. Baggio missed the decisive penalty. The football world was shocked; the entire Italian population was in tears. They were so close to a historical moment, but their best player missed the penalty. Roberto felt that he had let an entire country down.
In 1995, under the management of Marcello Lippi, Juventus decided to give a chance to young talent Alessandro Del Piero. Thus, the Bianconeri sold Baggio to Milan, much to the disappointment of the Juventus fans. It was Del Piero who inherited Baggio’s number 10 shirt at Juve.
His time at Milan was not what he was hoping for. There was plenty of competition in the Rossoneri’s squad, Capello sometimes deemed him as being out of form, and later, after Arrigo Sacchi’s return as Milan boss, his place in the starting line-up started getting less and less frequent. He did however win a Scudetto at Milan.
In 1997, Capello returned to Milan, and stated that Baggio no longer formed a part of his plans for the team. Roberto opted to move to Parma but his transfer was surprisingly impeded by Parma coach Carlo Ancelotti, who claimed that Baggio would not fit in his tactical plans.
Thus, Baggio joined Bologna, and it was at his time there during the 1997/98 season where he scored his highest goal tally, that is of 22. His performances at Bologna convinced Italy national team manager Cesare Maldini to call him up for the World Cup. He competed with Alessandro Del Piero for a place in the starting line-up, but still managed to score 2 goals in the competition, becoming the only Italian player to score in 3 different World Cups while becoming Italy’s highest World Cup goal scorer (together with Rossi and Vieri) with 9 goals to his name.
After just a year at Bologna, Baggio signed with Inter, the club he always loved. At that time, the Inter squad was composed of top players such as Ronaldo, Djorkaeff, Zamorano and Recoba. Yet, that Inter team was not able to win a trophy. In the 1999-2000 season, Baggio’s former Juventus manager, Lippi, was appointed as Inter’s coach. Lippi left Baggio out of the squad for most of the season, claiming that Baggio was out of shape. 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 Verona, which he scored after coming off the bench.
It was at this time that Baggio proved to the football world how much of a professional he was. Inter president Massimo Moratti stated that Marcello Lippi would only stay on as Inter manager if the team qualified for the Champions League. Inter had to play against Parma in the play-off match for the last remaining UEFA Champions League place. Lippi had been forced to field Baggio due to several injured players.
Despite the many arguments with Lippi, and the fact that a loss against Parma would mean that Lippi would be sacked, Baggio gave the performance of his life, scoring two memorable goals and helping Inter win with a score of 3—1. Baggio was given the rarity of a perfect 10 out of 10 rating from the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, which described his performance as “absolutely perfect”.
After two years with Inter, Baggio decided not to renew his contract, mainly due to his conflicts with Lippi. He was thus a free agent at the age of 33.
Robbie rejected an offer from Reggina and signed for Brescia.
At Brescia, he spent 4 unforgettable seasons as a captain, leader, and the team’s top player. He scored important and fantastic goals, most notably his goal against Juventus in 2001, after an Andrea Pirlo assist. Unfortunately, at a time where his career was being rejuvenated, Baggio tore his left knee cruciate ligament.
On the 14th of March 2004, Baggio scored his 200th goal in Serie A, which later became 205 goals. In April 28 of the same year, national team manager Giovanni Trapattoni called him up for the friendly against Spain. That match was his last one for the national team. Meanwhile, it was during the Milan game against San Siro where he played his last Serie A match.
After his retirement, Baggio involved himself in numerous activities. In October 2008, Baggio appeared in a charity match between Milan and Fiorentina in honour of Stefano Borgonovo, raising money for his treatment, his charity foundation and for ALS research. Borgonovo, who played alongside Baggio at Fiorentina, had been diagnosed with the incurable motor neuron disease ALS. He died in 2013.
2010 marked Roberto Baggio being appointed as president of the technical sector of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). On the 23rd January 2013, Baggio stepped down from his position as the Director of the Technical Sector of the FIGC stating that it had ignored his ideas about improving the Italian football system that focused on youth.
In 2011, Baggio was inducted into the Serie A Hall of Fame. He obtained his UEFA A License in 2011, which made him eligible to coach Lega Pro teams, or work as assistant coach in Serie A or Serie B. Later, he obtained the UEFA Pro Coaching Licence at Coverciano, which will allow him to legally coach a professional Serie A football club.
With 27 goals for Italy, 16 for Vicenza, 55 for Fiorentina, 115 for Juventus, 19 for Milan, 23 for Bologna, 17 for Inter, and 46 for Brescia, Baggio scored a total of 318 goals in his career.
Nobody can deny these statistics, and these prove that Roberto Baggio was probably the best Italian player of all times. His time at Brescia is not what defines him, nor does his time at Fiorentina, Milan, Juventus or Inter. When picturing memories of the great number Ten, one has to picture him separately from any club he has played for and simply remember his talent at whichever club he played for and at whichever stadium he was playing in. For Roberto Baggio belongs to all of Italy, and not to just one club.
Happy Birthday Robi, Il Divin Codino!