Aiming High – Gabriel Batistuta Continues to Set the Highest Standards
Date: May 1996
By: Paddy Agnew
Source: World Soccer
Transcribed by: Humbird
Just at the moment, if his name were put into the hat during a papal conclave in the
Sistine Chapel, he probably would end up as the first Argentinian Pope. In what has been thus far an "annus mirabilis" for Fiorentina, Batistuta has been the guiding light, the inspiration and, above all, the leading goalscorer.
At 27 years of age, the man from Reconquista has never been playing better, despite a persistent ankle problem. If Fiorentina have spent most of the season as the side sitting closest on Milan's tail, then much of the credit has to go to Batistuta, whose 16 goals by mid-March keeps him well on course for his seasonal average in the Italian League over the past four years of 17.75.
The Batistuta public image is that of the decent guy who gets going when the going gets tough. His off-the-field personality is more complex, more unexpected.
When Italian sports magazine "Guerin Sportivo" recently asked him what he would do as mayor of Florence, his reply was surprising: "I'd declare war on drugs and drug pushers and I'd try to do something for children so that they might grow up more healthy and better behaved in a better society, one without violence. I care about this sort of thing because I have a four-year old son myself."
More recently, during Italy's first players' strike, Batistuta not only expressed his wholehearted approval but went on to outdo the union executive with a radical proposal that none of them would have dared suggest: "We shouldn't restage this fixture list at a later date. When you strike, you decline to work … Some of the comments flying about make me want to weep. I can accept criticism from a worker, from someone who works 10 hours a day, but not from people who merely by talking about football on TV earn more than 75 percent of what players earn."
Gabriel Omar Batistuta clearly is not a man to be underestimated. Argentinian colleagues describe him as an intelligent, thoughtful player far from the "Fast Cars-Fast Money" cliché of the Italy-based football superstar.
He is not the sort of player likely to throw his annual salary down the drain. Rather than buy a fleet of expensive cars or jewelry, he has preferred to invest his money in Batistuta & Batistuta, an 18,000 hectare cattle farm, 100km west of his native Reconquista, which is owned in partnership with his father.
In this second season of grace – remember last year Batistuta ended up leading scorer with 26 goals – much analysis has been devoted to his remarkable skills. There was a time when he was seen as a powerhouse merchant, a striker who always intends to put the ball into the next province when he shoots at goal.
Breathtakingly delicate goals against Inter in both legs of the Italian Cup semi-final (Fiorentina won 3-1 and 1-0) probably settled that argument forever.
Batistuta, it is true, has an explosively powerful and unstoppable shot. His current confidence and maturity, though, make him a player capable of striking a delicate free-kick or chipping over an advancing goalkeeper.
Where does Batistuta go now? He has a ready-made answer – an Italian title with Fiorentina and a World Cup final with Argentina. Sharpshooters of the Batistuta class have to aim high.
A recent opinion poll taken among Florentines suggested that if the city's best known foreigner, Argentinian striker Gabriel Batistuta, were to present himself for election as City Mayor, he would win easily. We can believe it.
A fundamentally serious aspect of Batistuta emerged for all Italy to see when he was recently received by Pope John Paul II in a Vatican audience also attended by his compatriots Abel Balbo and Jose Chamot as well as Uruguayan Daniel Fonseca. "It was a unique and unforgettable experience and one that you cannot possibly describe. I'm a believer and my faith has always helped me," he commented.
Talk of Batistuta's prodigious technique prompts a wry smile from his father. Omar used to tease journalists by telling them how he had to "work real hard" on young Gabriel to get him to understand footballing basics. Or he would talk about how he made the young Batistuta play football with a medicine ball in order to develop his leg strength. "Those statements were all inventions. Gabriel did everything himself, on his own, and in his case you have to talk of natural talent," says his father.