When he retired in May 2004 he really meant to leave the world of football for good. Since then he has spent a lot of time with his family, hiding from the spotlight. Last Sunday he turned 40, put a blog online to speak with his many fans and had a few words with the press.
Any hint he could be back, maybe with a different role? Not really, he just wanted to express his grim impression on the current state of football and his opinion about some famous coaches, who won’t be too happy with his words.
No more pony tail. No more incredible shots or fantastic assists. Now Roberto Baggio is just an ordinary man caring about his family.
He lives in a wonderful white mansion a few kilometres far from his home town Caldogno, near Vicenza, where he teaches football to his little child Leonardo, only 22 months old.
Maybe to emphasize his new status of family man he cut his famous pony tail, which some Italian journalists defined as “divineâ€.
He’s a grown man, now. In fact he’s just turned forty, an age which is characterized by wisdom and sensitivity.
Well, at least that’s what they say in Italy, we don’t really know if it’s true or not.
Anyway, Baggio marked the occasion chatting with Italian press (specifically with Rai, the national broadcasting company).
He wasn’t shy to speak his mind, even though he had been almost silent for three years and has never been the kind of person too keen on having strong links with the media – and we’re using quite an understatement.
His evaluation of the current state of football is pretty negative: “It lacks passion, and it’s very unlikely it will ever get it backâ€.
Those were the words of possibly the best Italian players of last two decades, a world class star who won the Ballon D’or in 1993. So we have an explanation why he hasn’t even tried to be an official or a coach: he simply got fed up with it.
It may be true that his personality wasn’t that strong, that he was not a real leader outside the football pitch, but we think that wasn’t a good reason to be treated like an ordinary player by successful coaches
Think of Lippi or Sacchi. Baggio’s last gaffer at Brescia, Carletto Mazzone, has got an explanation for all that: people were jealous of his ability to create football.
It was actually a shame too often Baggio had to waste his precious time sitting on a bench when he was at Juve or Inter – under his sworn enemy Lippi – or even at Bologna – when he was coached by Ulivieri.
Some pundits say that former Italy’s manager Sacchi never forgave him for that penalty he missed in a sunny July afternoon in Pasadena (we are referring to an “ordinary†match like the 1994 World Cup final against Brazil).
It’s undeniable that over the years Sacchi experienced a few problems with champions like Van Basten and Vialli, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he had some arguments with Baggio as well.
It’s just a shame people tend to forget that before that fatal penalty two other players couldn’t score in the shootout (Baresi and Massaro) and that if Italy had reached that final is was 90% thanks to Baggio’s prodigious goals and plays in the previous stages of the competition.
But it would be unfair to say that the majority of Italians have bad memories of the former Fiorentina and Juventus (and a few more teams) number 10.
Actually in Italy there are hundreds of thousand people still worshipping him, and we can’t blame them, as we can remember the tremendous skills Baggio showed the world.
One of Baggio’s biggest regrets was not being drafted for the 2002 World Cup Italian squad after shining in the previous three editions of the major football tournament.
“I don’t want to make a comment on the Calciopoli issue, but quite often I wonder why I wasn’t picked for the Korea/Japan World Cupâ€.
He may not be that talkative, but in this case it’s rather clear he’s afraid some “external factors†could have influenced Trapattoni’s decision to leave him at home.
So what’s next for Baggio? As a sort of birthday present he restarted his website, adding a blog to have a direct contact with his fans, urged to write to him.
It’s too early to say that such a move could lead to a new involvement in football of the magic number 10.
But people like him are very much needed, especially in Italy, where Calcio is a somewhat sickly patient suffering from far too many diseases.
When Baggio says that “former football players are needed to revive the passion for this sport†we can only affirm that he’s 100% right, and that he should be one of the first ones to play a major role.
Here's hoping that we see more of Baggio in Italian football once again - pony tail or not...
Baggio’s Undying Passion For Football
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