Roberto Baggio.. the Italian player who died standing

“God forgives everyone except Baggio,” a phrase written on the walls of the Vatican in the center of the Italian capital, Rome, andI passed it on The tongues of the Italian people, and followed the Italian football legend, Roberto Baggio, after he missed the “ominous” penalty kick in the 1994 World Cup final, and accompanied his biography even after his retirement.

In the midst of the eyes of more than 94,000 fans, and countless followers, fans and football fans in the world, Roberto Baggio carried the ball, on July 17, during the 1994 World Cup final, to implement Italy’s fifth penalty kick against Brazil, which he lost high to kill hopes. Italy hosting the World Cup.

Betrayal and dying

Baggio not only killed Italy’s hopes and fans, but his missed penalty was the bullet that hit him since the ball hit the crossbar of Brazilian goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel, becoming the footballer who died standing after that kick.

Twenty-eight years have passed since the Italian disappointment, by winning the fourth World Cup title at the time, which it then achieved in the 2006 World Cup, to prove that football does not intercede for those who create it and flirt with it with his skills, despite Baggio’s name and his great giving, one kick dropped him without mercy, after he was almost close. From immortalizing his name in the record of legends without impurities and disappointments.

As if dying, he remained standing for a moment before the owner of the unique haircut “The Sacred Ponytail” kneeled, blowing up his great brilliance in a season that was considered one of the most prominent and best seasons in its history, after levels that only legends provide, astonished by the followers and fans of the round witch.

Italian Roberto Baggio after missing a penalty kick against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup Final (getty images)

Kick the flavor of death

With a shirt bearing the inscription “R.BAGGIO” accompanied by the number ten, and with a performance that lives up to the description of the legendary, Baggio carried the hopes of the Italians, looking to fulfill the biggest dreams of the national teams, as the dream of the World Cup is unmatched by any championship in the world of round leather.

In a match that required caution and caution, in which the samba stars met with the Azzurri warriors, the match did not live up to the expected level, and reached the penalty shootout after a goalless draw. Brazil scored three goals from four penalty kicks, waiting for the fifth kick for Italy, whose players scored two goals out of four.

The pressure increased on Baggio, who was chosen to take the last kick in the hope of winning the World Cup with his final touch, but Italy’s players missed the first and fourth kick, turning the kick from hope of victory to hope of keeping Italy in the competition for an extra kick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbkRApq9qY

The owner of “cold-blooded”, as the opponents described it before the lovers, presented with great psychological pressure and hit the ball past the goal high, announcing the loss of the Italian national team and the end of the dream, so that the whole world would witness Baggio’s pause, which was more eloquent than any words, indicating the loss of the dream of a player who fought for the coronation of the title World Cup.

Italian Roberto Baggio after missing a penalty kick against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup Final (getty images)

Nightmare and disappointments

As much love is pain, the Italian masses’ encouragement and love for those who carried their hopes have turned into anger and resentment.

The memory of the penalty kick that Baggio missed is still chasing after years, and the Italian star stated in many meetings that he does not forget what happened in that final.

There is a lot of talk about the scenes of Baggio’s football career, including what he told the site “Football ItaliaDescribing the penalty kick as “ominous”, adding, “It kept bringing me to sleep for years, as I had never in my football life taken a penalty kick over the crossbar before that kick.”

About his disappointments and suffering in football, Baggio said, “I went through unhappy moments when I was a player, not only because of the kick I missed in the World Cup, but because of the many injuries that exhausted me, and it was a nightmare for me.” He continued, “I remember that I asked my mother after the first operation Surgical, to kill me to end my suffering.”

According to press reports, the reason for the phrase “God forgives everyone except Baggio” is that Baggio converted to Buddhism in the eighties after going through a psychological crisis as a result of a knee injury that threatened his career. He prayed to Buddha before her and did not pray to Christ.

Italian Roberto Baggio taking a penalty kick against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup Final (getty images)

bus rally

Baggio began his career in the world of round leather in 1981, by joining Vicenza, and played for it for four years until 1985, participating in 36 games, during which he scored 13 goals, after which he moved to Fiorentina, and participated in 136 games, during which he scored 55 goals and made 21 goals.

In 1990, he moved to Juventus and played 200 games, during which he scored 115 goals and made 48 others, and in the 1995-1996 season, he moved to AC Milan, and won the Italian League title with them, becoming the first player in the history of the league to win the league title twice in a row with two teams. are different.

And he played with Milan 67 games, during which he scored 19 goals and made 25 goals, to move in 1997 to Bologna, and played 33 games in its ranks, during which he scored 23 goals and made nine goals.

Baggio then moved to Inter Milan, and played 58 games, in which he scored 17 goals and made the same ones, and in 2000, he moved to Brescia, and was able to play 101 games with them, during which he scored 46 goals and made 25 goals, until he retired from football in 2004 during his honor match against the Spanish national team in Genoa, Italy.

Baggio is one of the few players who played in the ranks of the most prestigious Italian clubs, Juventus and the two poles of Milan, AC Milan, and Inter.

Baggio has many individual and collective awards, including the 1993 World Player of the Year and the Golden Ball winner at the time. 1995, and 1996.

Baggio (55 years) is considered one of the best players that Italy has produced. He played 56 international matches with the Azzurri, during which he scored 27 goals and assisted 13 goals. He played with the Italian national team three World Cup finals in 1990, 1994 and 1998, with a total of 16 matches, during which he scored nine goals. He was ranked as Italy’s top scorer in the World Cup, shared with Christian Vieri and Paolo Rossi with the same number of goals.