So daughter Valentina’s 57th birthday gift turned into a boom
What do the Two Thousand know, damn it. What do they know about who Roberto Baggio is, what he did, how he played, how he changed the color of our Sundays, how he was loved by everyone even though he wore the shirts of Juve, Milan and Inter. Who knows how difficult and tortuous his path was, due to the traps of an evil destiny that enjoyed changing its face and transforming itself to hit him: a terrible knee injury, a transfer from Florence to Turin first rejected and then accepted, three World Cups lost on penalties, coaches who thought they could do without him and regretted it when they no longer found him in the locker room, technical commissioners who made bizarre choices, humiliating him and his talent. And yet… And yet, Roberto Baggio is always Roberto Baggio. And even the people of the 2000s, fortunately, know that with a ball between his feet and a pigtail on his head he collected skills over and over again, to use a term dear to them. They know this because YouTube is a precious archive of magic. They know it because there isn’t a dad who is a football fan who doesn’t talk about him. They know it because this way of living away from the spotlight has made him even more iconic and unique. They know it because a champion that everyone likes has a natural empathy that transcends the barrier of time. And it is beautiful that the myth of Roberto Baggio is handed down from father to son, from generation to generation: oral tradition, as with the legends of the past.
the message to sinner
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The message to Sinner Now, however, Roberto Baggio has landed on social media: not his initiative, but the gift that his daughter Valentina (born in 1990, that of the magical nights and the transfer from Fiorentina to Juve) gave him to celebrate the 57th birthday, celebrated on Sunday. The first official act of the Baggio social network was a tribute to a young champion: he posted a photo of Jannik Sinner with the Rotterdam trophy, writing “I heard you speak in an interview after the wonderful success in Australia. I was struck by the your humility and your purity. I hope you keep these values as the basis for your life. And I am sure that your growth will never end.” Three words above all: humility, purity and growth. Basically a manifesto of baggism. Jannik is now 22 years and 188 days old: at the same age Baggio was preparing his championship debut in his last season in the purple jersey. A few months later he would play the World Cup at home, making all of Italy dream with that clean smile and that immense talent that are also Sinner’s distinctive trait.
champion of all
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At 10pm on Monday, @robybaggio_official’s followers were already 140 thousand, greeted by a welcome video: “Thank you for what you wrote and for the affection you showed me. I send you a big hug”. Break. Then, turning to his daughter: “Oh, dear: that’s enough now, eh.” Scene taken in the middle of the fields of his farm, where Baggio moves with a Panda and the air of someone enjoying the serenity, peace, silence. It is the dimension that he chose for himself after saying goodbye to football: doing and not appearing, that has always been his mantra. The fact is that he gave us so much beauty that it was unforgettable. “Since Baggio no longer plays, it’s no longer Sunday”: Cesare Cremonini was right. Roberto is and will always be everyone’s champion: there is no oblivion for those who give smiles and emotions.
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