LEGENDS OF THE GAME - ROBERTO BAGGIO

The Divine Ponytail: Born on 18th February 1967 in Caldogno Veneto, Italy Roberto Baggio was the son of Matilde and Florindo Baggio. Roberto Baggio was the sixth child out of eight children in his family and also has a younger brother named Eddy Baggio who played professionally as well.

Baggio went on to become one of the biggest household names in Italian football and also broke numerous records. Roberto Baggio was known as the Divin Codino or the “Divine Ponytail” which was in reference to his iconic look that he wore during his career. It was also a nod to his playing ability and Buddhist beliefs as he was a Buddhist in a catholic country. Baggio mainly played as a second striker or an attacking midfielder, though he played in many different positions over the course of his career. He was renowned for his dribbling skills, goal-scoring, freekicks and penalties. He was widely known as one of the greatest football players of all time. Like many of the world’s greatest ever football players, Baggio had a unprepossessing physique and you would not be able to notice him in a crowd of people. Despite his physique he had one of the most elegant technical ability and vision. He moved so well with the ball it was like watching an artist grace a football pitch. He was also known as one of Italy’s most prolific penalty takers in their history. Ironically, he is also well known for missing a crucial penalty for Italy in the 1994 World Cup Final.

The Big Break:

At the age of 18, Baggio was playing for Vicenza, and was due to join Florentina when he unfortunately ruptured his ACL and the meniscus of his right knee. This was set to block his transfer but Florentina who were only 2 days away from finalizing his transfer agreed to go ahead with the deal despite his injury and offered to pay for his surgery.