Roberto Baggio vs France WORLD CUP 1998 

E su questo commento non c'è da aggiungere altro. RobyBaggio #1

ridiculous statement. Baggio was so much better than the guys you mentioned. Baggio is the best football player EVER !

Baggio by far the better Italian who played football

LOL...I'll take Maradona and Baggio over those two any day!

Rivera y Del Piero

@@felixreali7101 Baggio and Zidane. I would put Zidane first.

Del Piero was an epic disappointment in all world cups and euros/

ma sai? io penso addirittura tre, in Italia 90 era fortissimo ma con l'argentina entrò soltanto verso la fine mi pare o solo il secondo tempo e stava segnando su calcio di punizione

yep, in 1990........stupid...Baggio-Schillaci was working....why change it? anyway, Baggio had stupid coaches for almost all his career (esp National team)

@@fabianpatrizio2865 I think the 1990 Argentina game was down to Baggio being so young, for that crunch match the coach and his staff were probably inclined to stick with the more experienced line up despite the great form of Baggio. And in France 98 Del Piero was the golden boy, the new star at club level, and despite the fact that he had not been a spectacular performer at international level and had suffered a recent injury, and wasn't playing quite as well as Baggio at the tournament, they favoured him because he was that star player. The only world cup where Baggio was the undisputed no1 choice, the golden boy in his prime (pretty much anyway), was USA 94, and by unfortunate coincidence that was the only world cup at which he was having injury problems, which held him back in the final.

@@danyoutube7491 I don't buy the experience excuse. Baggio was 23, it wasn't as if he was 18 and fresh on the scene. He had just become the most expensive player in the World after excelling at Fiorentina for at least 3 seasons. Vialli had never consistently produced for Italy and was again disappointing (along with Carnevale) in the opening game against Austria. What Vicini did was madness. The team had looked great during their run to the semi-final. Without Baggio, the team lost its fluency and looked extremely nervous, sitting on their lead which they didn't do in the previous games. But you are correct with your other points. The Italian management (in the 1990's) based their decisions on anything other than form and paid the price. If I remember correctly Baggio went into the 1994 tournament carrying an injury and then picked up another vs Bulgaria. It was incredible how he lasted 120 minutes in the Pasadena heat.

Yes Stefano

Everybody knows, Stefano, but why didn't he score here: 3:55 (Unforgettable)

I’ll go with that....true

Además superó muchas lesiones de rodilla y siempre volvió

En el 98 tranquilamente otro técnico lo ponía titular y debió ser llevado al mundial 2002, recuerdo como todos los italianos lo pedían y el técnico no lo llevó...

Purtroppo c' erano di mezzo gli sponsor e la juventus. Questi due fattori hanno inciso molto.

Giusto ci avrebbe portato in finale forse' per questo non lo hanno fatto giocare sempre era gia' destinato che doveva vincere la francia giocava in francia normale!

Concordo pienamente Baggio in forma Vale dieci Del Piero!

At 31 I don't think Baggio had enough in his tank to play the full 90 every game. Since Del Piero was not fully fit I think there should have been an expanded role for Inzaghi. At the end of the day if Baggio buries the volley in extra time against France we're not having this discussion.

@@DanielSong39 Nah, that's not true; I know that coaches always said that Baggio couldn't play a full match, because of all his injuries, but he was in good shape that season and played a lot of games for Bologna and scored and created a lot of goals. He also played the full 90 minutes against Chile and was fantastic, so even though he was 31, he could handle it, and he did create a lot more chances when he came on against France, whereas unfortunately Alex was out of shape after the last minute injury at the end of the season, even though he also had an amazing year with Juve. I agree that with Milan Baggio didn't look like he was in great physical condition, and looked sluggish, and Capello often substituted him, but with Bologna he looked like a new person and his fitness coach did a lot of gym work with him, and he was far more dynamic. I agree that Inzaghi probably deserved more space, but I don't think that Inzaghi and Vieri would've worked as we wouldn't have had a second striker, just two out-and-out strikers, and Vieri was on fire that tournament. Unfortunately Maldini was also a very old-fashioned coach, who was fixed on a four-man flat midfield, when we had a great team and should've played a more attacking formation considering we had so much quality, maybe even a 4-3-1-2, with Di Biagio and Albertini in midfield with another ball-winner, and maybe Baggio behind Del Piero and Vieri, although this formation would've excluded Moriero who was in good form on the right wing. We also had other good attacking players on the bench who didn't get much space either like Chiesa, who could also play as a second striker. Instead Maldini goes and plays with a sweeper and three man-markers and insists on only two forwards when the fans wanted an attacking trident with Baggio and Del Piero...with all our talent, we should have played way better footballl than we did, and although we only went out to the winners in the quarter-finals on penalties, we probably could've done even better with that team. We had an amazing defence, good goalkeepers, good midfielders, and fantastic forwards. And, I mean, yes, it's a shame Baggio didn't bury the volley that would've given us the golden goal against France, but although he came very close and struck it well, it wasn't an extremely easy chance, he had great technique so he made it look simple. Unfortunately I think if he had looked at Barthez he maybe could've had the time to take a touch and then hit it, but he tried to strike it first time.

@@jackpuccini3143 Well the coach knows best what the players can and can't do. Still have no idea why Del Piero played so much though. That's something the coach and assistants should be able to pick out in training.

Italia 3-4-1-2 vs France ( no Nesta ) Pacliuca Cannavaro Costacusta Maldini Di Livio Albertini Di Biagio Pesotto Baggio Vieri Inzaghi Etc ( Toldo , Bergomi , Toricelli , Moriero , Dino Baggio , Delpiero , Chiesa ) .

@@phatlocphongthuy4185 I really like that formation; if only that had been the case! I still think I would have preferred Moriero on the right over Di Livio though, because he really could cause problems going forward with his speed, dribbling, creativity, and crossing ability on the right wing, and he also worked hard defensively, and Pessotto was already more defensive-minded on the left, but if Maldini had played that system I doubt Moriero would have played as balance was always his concern! Di Livio also could have been an option on the left instead. Both were solid players who ran a lot and were decent tactically and defensively and pushed up the flanks and crossed well, but they weren't very skilful, but they were strong mentally and at Juve they played an important part in Lippi's all-conquering side. Aside from those unglamorous but effective wingbacks, that formation really doesn't have many weaknesses. Di Biagio and Albertini were really good in midfield, Cananvaro, Maldini and Costacurta were three of the best defenders in the world, Pagliuca was still a world class goalkeeper, and Vieri, Inzaghi, and Baggio were some of the best forwards in the world. Maybe Chiesa over Inzaghi would've been a bit better alongside a true centre-forward like Vieri, as he could play both as as second striker and as a striker, but Pippo deserved more space!

Exactly; the thing is, his technique was amazing and he struck volleys so well, including that one, which barely missed the post, so he made it look a lot easier than it was, but most players probably would've just scuffed it completely

Paolo Rossi fue mejor

The travesty is that Baggio never won a Chanpions League and the World Cup, despite his game being more influential than Del Piero's. Del Piero ended up winning both.

@@sebastiantevel898 That's true. But Del Piero won the CL in another era. Now its "normal" for big clubs playing every year CL. At Baggios time, there was only one team from every country playing CL. So it was very hard not only to win, but even to qualify... Think about it, Maradona played only a few times in CL!

Y yo Del Piero

Del piero sin dudas

Ustedes no vieron nada

Baggio wasn't a midfielder he was a second striker

@@PrincipeAzzurri Yes but no. I didn't see Zico at his prime, but I heard he played really well in his first year in Udinese, however in his second year Udinese had economic problems and Zico suffered from injuries and eventually he was sent back to Flamengo. Still, Zico was an amazing player and he played mostly in Brazil which at the time wasn't unusual. Ronaldinho was transferred to Milan because Guardiola didn't want to deal with his lifestyle and because his game was starting to decline, but when Ronaldinho was at his prime won everything (Leagues, Cups, Champions, Copas America and the World Cup). That's why I don't judge Ronaldinho based on his time in Milan because he wasn't at his best, he surely had good games and moments but not comparable to when he was in Barcelona.

He didn't have the gas to go the full 90, he was effective because he was a substitute and had fresh legs.

You r right Delpiero was never as good as Baggio on the National Team, Del Piero was more of a Serie A player

@@dsanchez9703 Yes, although at least unlike Totti Del Piero didn't just star in Serie A, but did also play well in Europe, like Baggio did as well (even though unfortunately because of the old regulations Baggio mainly starred in the UEFA Cup, whereas Alex did well in the Champions League). But yes, none of those number 10s ever played anywhere near as well as Baggio did with Italy unfortunately.

@@DanielSong39 It wasn't just that though; he underwent an intense fitness regime that season and did a lot of gym work, with multiple hours a day with a personal trainer, so he was in far better shape than he had been in previous seasons. He wasn't just fresher, he was sharper physically, and mentally he was far more confident. With Milan, he looked more sluggish and despondent, and older than he was, but at Bologna he looked like his younger self again, really dynamic and aggressive in his attacking and risk-taking on the ball, and he played that way at the 1998 World Cup as well. He was the best player on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes when he started against Chile in the opening match, setting up Vieri's opener and winning a last minute penalty to equalise, which he scored. Then he also created Di Biagio's goal against Cameroon when he started. After that he played well after coming off the bench against Austria and France, but he would have done well had he started; unlike his time with Milan, where he was often substituted, with Bologna he was playing entire matches, and a lot of games, so he could handle an entire game. But Del Piero was poor all tournament even when at the beginning of matches he started, because unfortunately he was out of form following his last minute injury, and he also felt the pressure a lot more with Italy than Baggio did, even though he had had an amazing season with Juve, and was amazing at club level up until his injury later that year.

@@jackpuccini3143 Well said

Baggio stole everybody's show, Zidane, Ronaldo, everybody!

Baggio wasn't only a champion , he was something else ,Like Maradona.

Baggio is a player from the same caliber as Cruyff or Maradona

Baggio was better than many legends of the last few decades like Zidane, Kaká, Pirlo, Xavi or Iniesta because this players were outstanding in in one or two qualities like elegance, speed, dribbling, scoring and free-kick precision while Baggio had all this qualities combined. Unfortunately, that penalty in that final and his many injuries caused him to be greatly underrated. Even in this WC Baggio's game was severely undermined by the many knee surgeries he had gone over the years. Still, for me he was better than Del Piero (no doubts he was a great player himself). But I'd say Baggio is in the same category as players like Ronaldinho, Zico, Jairzinho, Mattheus or Kempes and only behind super stars like Ronaldo, Pelé, Messi, Beckenbauer or Maradona.

@@AngelGonzalez-yb6gu absolutely correct buddy. Also not to forget Baggio had multiple surgeries unlike others.

Would've been nice to have gotten the chance to play a rematch, especially as he was in good form in 1998 even though he was four years older.

You know that Italy never won against croacia? Croacia beat germany 3-0 in 1/4 and finish third 1998, was very good

@@jackpuccini3143 4 years older, but was in much better physical shape in 1998. Baggio went into the 1994 WC carrying I believe an achilles injury. He picked up a hamstring/thigh strain in the semi against Bulgaria. As ever throughout his career, he performed miracles despite being almost crippled.

HE COULDNT USE HIM. GUY WAS INJURY PRONE WITH BAD STAMINA LEARN HISTORY FIRST THEN U MAY TALK.

It’s a player the same calibre as Maradona

facts

@@PIP...33 Utter nonsense. When you have a world class talent, an all-time great, you have to both field that talent and give them the freedom to express themselves and not leave them to rot on the bench or not select them when they are available. His stamina wasn't a problem, and while he had a very tough time with injuries, he still managed to play many games (approx 699, scoring 318 goals) throughout his career and play up to the age of 37. Also, his goals and assists record for a number 10 was incredible. He did the business for Italy, Vicenza, Fiorentina, Juve, Bologna and Brescia. Yes, he had problems with injuries during his time at AC and Inter, but both teams at the time were in a mess, swapping managers every 5 minutes, and those managers often played Baggio out of position, setting him up to fail. And in spite of the mess in Milan he still was very important in helping Inter beat Madrid to qualify out of the CL group and beating Parma in the CL play-off., and helping Milan win the title in his first season there - I believe he made the most assists in Serie A that season.

At the end France did that. At the time the sentiment was that the team that was going to win this game would win the cup.

​@@sebastiantevel898brazil would have made baggio cry again had they met in the final😂

@@clbl not that Brazil of 1998.

Baggio was not lucky with WC he never lost the WC and he never won it. 90 lost semi by penalties,94 lost final by penalties and 98 lost quarter penalties again.

Because he was in terrible form and not so great physical shape. He was a shadow against France, it was if Italy was playing with 10 men. Baggio completely eclipsed Del Piero throughout the tournament. Cesare Maldini made a massive mistake in not starting Baggio in every game. He had been outstanding for Bologna, and was in the best physical condition of his career (he carried several injuries during 1994).

1990 was the best chance for him...

Nike tournament? Do you mean the 1997 Tournoi featuring Italy, France, Brazil, and England? If so, I strongly disagree. We finished 4th in that competition, bottom, losing to England, and despite drawing 3-3 with Brazil and 1-1 with France, we were lucky to get any points at all because we were outplayed in all 3 games. During the 1998 World Cup, Italy played much better when Baggio was in the team. He was scoring and assisting goals and was a constant menace. Del Piero was in terrible form, largely due to not being fit, but even so, aside from that 'cherry-on-the-top' goal against Germany in 2006, Del Piero was largely disappointing for Italy; a shadow of the player we saw at Juve - who can forget those costly misses in the Euro 2000 final? No, Baggio didn't hurt the team at all. He gave us some much needed imagination, penetration and excitement. Cesare Maldini hurt the team the most, playing with a very defensive midfield, playing the likes of Pessotto - a full back - in central midfield. Had Baggio started the game against France (as he should have against Argentina in the 1990 Semi-Final), or came off the bench earlier we would have had a much better chance of winning, and who knows, he might have put that volley away because he'd have been caught up even more into the pace of the game, more warmed up.