Roberto Baggio looks back at that 1994 World Cup Final for Italy against Brazil, which ended with the ball sailing into the sky. ‘I had a thousand opportunities to miss a penalty, that was the one I really couldn’t miss.’
The legend had been instrumental in dragging the Azzurri to the Final in the USA and was the last man up in the penalty shoot-out in Pasadena.
With heavy strapping to his leg due to an injury and after 120 minutes of football in extreme heat, he stepped up and blasted the spot-kick over the bar.
“I will never forget it. That was a childhood dream come true and then it ended in the most absurd fashion and I never got over it,” Il Divin Codino told SkyTG24.
He was reassured that the Italy fans had forgiven him for that mistake and understood the situation.
“The people always showed me great love and affection, they understood my suffering, but I am very demanding with myself.
“I had a thousand opportunities to miss a penalty in my career, that was the one I really couldn’t miss.”