The Best Striker of The World : Gabriel Batistuta is exceptional in every way

Date: December 1999
Source: Sportweek (Dutch magazine)
Translated & Edited by: Jojan

He is loyal. He is a phenomenon. But why is the absolute recognition coming so late?

"There he comes", an English colleague whispered in awe. The Italian contingent had also already noticed him. As modesty is indeed a human but not an Italian virtue, even a little applause arose from among them. A smile appeared on his face as he passed us. While behind him the Arsenal players were skittishly heading for their bus, their heads hanging down, the man of the match came to the fore and told everyone who wanted to hear it what a beautiful match it had been. He, Gabriel Omar Batistuta, had single-handedly silenced Wembley. On the 27th of October his goal put an end to Arsenal's Champion League dreams.

Of course, he willingly admitted, Arsenal had had ball possession most of the time and yes, Arsenal had perhaps deserved to win. Whereas on one side the chances deadened in beauty, he only needed half a chance on the other side. All of a sudden the goal was there. In one move the Argentine rushed past Nigel Winterburn, to go on by shooting the ball high and hard into the goal. Those who had blinked with their eyes in the meantime, had missed the goal. That is how things go in front at Fiorentina. There is only one way to the goal: the shortest. And that way is controlled by Gabriel Batistuta. He does not knock on the door, does not introduce himself, he is just there all of a sudden. By then it is already too late for defenders and goalkeepers.

In Florence the 30-year-old striker has been canonized, the rest of the world is silently following. People are secretly hoping for him to carry off prizes in one of the very many elections this month. Though of course it is so much gained that his colleagues playing in The Netherlands have elected him as striker of the year, he would even rather gain the acknowledgment of the entire soccer world. Try to name another player who has been holding up for already nine seasons in the heaviest league of the world. Who has an average of 18 goals per season. A sensational average, especially in Italian terms. The nickname "Bati-Gol" is more than appropriate. What a wide pass is for one soccer player, is scoring for Batistuta: business as usual. He did it in Argentina for Newell's Old Boys, River Plate and Boca Juniors, but also in Italy the powerful parts of this goal-scoring machine remained intact. So far his Italian works comprise almost two hundred goals.

Not bad for an attacker who was once described by former national coach Daniel Passarella as "a soccer player with mediocre technical skills and two oblique feet". The past ten years they were constantly at each other's throats. This feud dates back to December 1989, when Passarella became the coach of River Plate. From one day to another he made Batistuta a substitute. When after six months he was still waiting for one minute on the pitch, he transferred from River Plate to the biggest rival Boca Juniors. Under coach Oscar Washington Tabarez Batistuta started developing into the super striker he is now. Driven by vindictive thoughts he scored at least once in every of the four clashes with River Plate. Boca Juniors became the champions and Batistuta became the top scorer of the Argentine league. A week before the Copa America of 1991 national coach Alfio Basile let him make is debut in the national team, a couple of weeks later Batistuta was holding the Copa in his hands. His six goals in five matches got him the top scorer's trophy. From the large number of offers by European clubs lining up for the man from the small village Avallaneda, he chose for Fiorentina. Scoring became his trademark there as well.

After the World Cup of 1994 his and Passarella's paths crossed again. It was not a happy reunion. The new national coach and the 'old' striker merrily started digging up old dirt. If Passarella expected his international players to have decent hairdos, Batistuta made sure he almost tripped over his hair. During the long series of qualifying matches prior to last year's World Cup finals, Passarella hardly ever called the top scorer, who scored one goal after another in the Serie A. In the season 1994/1995 season Batistuta did not only become the Serie A top scorer, he also broke a 32-year-old record (by Bologna striker Ezio Pasciutti). He was the first one to score at least one goal per match in eleven consecutive matches.

Still this was not enough reason for Passarella to frequently select him for the national team. In the preamble to the World Cup in France he was even ignored by the selector for almost a year. Batistuta was in on the eventual World Cup, he scored a fair hattrick, but even he could not prevent the curtain form dropping against The Netherlands. In that match "Bati-Gol" did not get any further than a blast against the wood. The little blessing in disguise came for Batistuta with the dismissal of Passarella. An even better blessing was the appointment of Marcelo Bielsa as the new leading man. Bielsa was the man who had put him on his tracks to triumph. Bielsa had been one of the few who had seen his potential. His nickname during those younger days was "El Gordo" ("Fatty"), because of his tendency to become overweight. Bielsa put him on a strict diet and between training sessions he let him cut the lawns and hedges of the sports grounds. A couple of months later Batistuta made his debut in the first team of Newell's, in nothing less than the Copa Libertadores semifinals against San Lorenzo. Newell's won with 1-0, a day later the paper 'El Grafico' reported that Batistuta was a great promise for the future. From that day on the relation Bielsa/Batistuta has been settled. The longhaired no longer has to fear for his position. Recently the striker scored his fiftieth goal in seventy matches, an unparalleled number.

The only slur on Batistuta's career is the fact that he never got to perform with an absolute top club. Two years ago a transfer to the absolute top seemed only a matter of time. After the 1998 World Cup the scorer stated that he 'needed a bigger team than Fiorentina'. Then when the club president came up waving a blank check, Batistuta quickly climbed down and renewed his not-yet-expired contract till 2003. Clubs such as Parma, Manchester United and Barcelona slunk off, disappointed. It looks as if Batistuta will grow old in Florence. He has already been promised the future presidency. He can do no wrong in the eyes of the fans in Tuscany. His loyalty towards the club, even when Fiorentina relegated in 1993 he remained faithful to the club, goes to an extent that has rarely been shown. In a world where players change clubs more often than they change soccer shoes, Batistuta is the exception. And the supporters appreciate that. At one of the entrances of the Artemio Franchi Stadium the fans raised a 3-meter-high bronze statue, representing their hero with a corner flag above his head. It was one of the many ways Batistuta used to celebrate a goal. His impression of 'striker shoots around with a machine gun' also got to be imitated a lot. 'A warrior who does not think about quitting, who is tough in the battle, but fair in his soul', says the inscription of the statue. There is not a single lie in that. Coach Giovanni Trapattoni knows as well: 'Batistuta is the pounding heart of Fiorentina'.

Batistuta repays his supporters with goals. Like the one against Arsenal that opened the gate to the second round of the Champions League, in which Fiorentina had a dazzling start with a 2-0 victory over cup holder Manchester United. Batistuta himself scored the first goal and laid the ball ready for the second goal.

Recently he was asked how he saw his future. Batistuta had a slight idea of that. "I see my family together in Reconquista, where my parents manage our farm. I see my children Thiago, Lucas and Joaquin running all day between the cows and the horses. My wife Irina will be teaching at her dancing-school and I myself will spend my time fishing and hunting. But this is a long-term future, really. I still love soccer with all my heart."