Three decades after the most famous (or infamous) penalty in World Cup history, the moment still haunts Roberto Baggio, who missed the spot kick that would have kept Italy in the shootout against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup. Even if he had scored, Italy would have still ended up on the losing side, as they already were a goal in deficit and had Brazil converted the next attempt, they would have won.
“If I had a knife then, I would have stabbed myself. If there had been a gun, I would have shot myself. At that moment, I just wanted to die,” Baggio told The Athletic.
The moment is still replete with tragic-heroic symbolism. Baggio, standing shocked, head hung, hands over hips, the mind perhaps an absolute blank. Later, tears rolled down his cheeks. It was the tournament he had defined, and would continue to define, but not in the way he wanted it to be. “It was the toughest moment of my career. Before I left for the finals my Buddhist spiritual master told me that I would be confronted with a lot of problems and that everything would be decided at the very last minute. At the time I didn’t realise his prediction would be so accurate,” he had earlier said.
Had Italy won the World Cup, he would have been placed among the legends of the game like Diego Maradona and Pele. But he has little regrets about that. “I don’t see it that way. It’s hard for me to put myself alongside them. I never felt that way. I’ve always been just a regular person among billions on this planet. I was simply lucky to play football and do what I love. I only wanted to entertain people and bring them joy,” Baggio said.
“That’s what I lived for. That was my dream. For the people to enjoy themselves. That was the mentality I had when I was 10, 15, when I was 20 until I retired,” he said.
He says simple things keep him happy. “Maybe it’s best to be unaware of it. Maybe an awareness of it would change you. I don’t want to change. I am the same person I was when I was 10. I’m passionate about the simple things in life.”
Meeting Messi
In the United States of America for the Club World Cup, he met Lionel Messi on his 38th birthday and gifted him a jersey of the 1994 World Cup. “When he saw it, he got emotional. He caressed it, and folded it. It was a beautiful thing to see.”
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“What a wonderful visit! Thank you, Roberto, for this special and meaningful gift and for the lovely chat we shared. You are a crack and a football legend. It will always be a pleasure to welcome you whenever you want to come and see us,” Messi posted on Instagram.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
