Italy legend Roberto Baggio describes how he felt after that penalty in the 1994 World Cup, but feels Luciano Spalletti’s Azzurri can have their say at EURO 2024. ‘The more they doubt us, the stronger we react.’
The Divine Ponytail was one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, but sadly many will only ever remember him for that moment in Pasadena in the boiling hot sun of the 1994 World Cup Final.
Playing 120 minutes effectively on one leg, Baggio stepped up and blasted his penalty over the bar in the shoot-out.
“I would love to play that match again,” he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“We reached that game in bad shape, we had already played extra time against Nigeria and an extra half-hour at those temperatures really takes it out of you. If we had been sharper, it would’ve been a different match.”
What did Baggio think the moment he saw that penalty go over the crossbar?
“I was looking for a shovel so I could dig a hole in the ground and bury myself in it. Mamma mia. Mamma mia. You cannot cancel things like that. I dreamed and imagined that game, Italy vs. Brazil in the Final, so many times since I was a kid.
“I was three years old when we lost the 1970 World Cup Final to Brazil and I never forgot it. I wanted to avenge Gigi Riva and the others. It truly was my dream. So when it ended like that, the world came tumbling down on top of me.”
It was not the only World Cup that ended in heartbreak for Baggio, because he was also in the side that hosted the 1990 competition and finished third, then 1998 also ended on penalties against eventual winners France.
“Let’s just say I was not fortunate. I had three World Cup tournaments, they all saw us eliminated on penalties. If the shot against France had gone in, it would’ve taken us to the semi-final against Croatia, because at the time the Golden Goal was still active.
“It was a lovely team move, Demetrio Albertini gave the long ball, but I wanted to anticipate Fabien Barthez and rushed the volley. If I had waited for the ball to bounce, I could’ve put that ball wherever I wanted.”
Italy won the EURO 2020 tournament by beating England on penalties at Wembley Stadium, but then failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“It was a strange sensation missing the World Cup two times in a row, we were really not used to it. But it also seems absurd to me that the reigning Champions of Europe are not automatically qualified for the next World Cup, especially as we won at Wembley, it’s no mean feat,” added Baggio.
The Azzurri do go into the draw for the EURO 2024 group phase, which will be held today in Hamburg starting at 17.00 GMT.
“This is what Italy are like. The more they attack us, the more they doubt us, the stronger we react. That is when we give our best. That was the situation in 1982, in 2006 and really in 1994 too. We have this unbreakable pride, not just in football, but in all sports.”