Roberto Baggio

Roberto Baggio (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto ˈbaddʒo]; born 18 February 1967) is a retired Italian footballer, who predominantly played as a second forward or as an attacking midfielder. He was also the former President of the technical sector of the Italian Football Federation. A technical playmaker and set piece specialist renowned for his curling free kicks, he is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, coming fourth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, and was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team. In 1993 he was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or. In 2004 he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.

Baggio played for Italy in 56 matches, scoring 27 goals, and is the fourth highest goalscorer for his national team. He starred in the Italian team that finished third in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice. At the 1994 FIFA World Cup he led Italy to the final, scoring five goals, received the World Cup Silver Ball and was named in the World Cup All-Star Team. He is largely remembered for missing the decisive penalty in the shootout of the 1994 World Cup Final against Brazil. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup he scored twice, before Italy were eliminated to the eventual champions France in the quarter-finals on penalties. Baggio is the only Italian to score in three World Cups, 1990, 1994 and 1998, and with nine goals holds the record for most goals scored in World Cup tournaments for Italy, along with Paolo Rossi and Christian Vieri.

At club level, Baggio is one of the three top-scoring Italians in all competitions. In 2002 he became the first Italian player in over 50 years to score more than 300 career goals. In 2004, during the final season of his career, Baggio became the first player in over 30 years to score 200 goals in Serie A, and he is currently the 6th highest goalscorer of all time in Serie A, with 205 goals. In 1990 he moved from Fiorentina to Juventus for a world record transfer fee. Baggio has won two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and a UEFA Cup, playing for seven different teams throughout his career.

Baggio is known as Il Divin Codino (The Divine Ponytail), for the hairstyle he wore for most of his career, for his talent, and for his Buddhist beliefs. In 2002 he was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In 2003, Baggio was the inaugural winner of the "Golden Foot" award. In recognition of his human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in 2010. He was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

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