Batistuta 'guiltless' over Argentina flop
June 12, 2002
Argentina striker Gabriel Batistuta quit international football on Wednesday, refusing to take any blame for the nation's elimination from the World Cup.
Onefootball
"I leave with sadness, but I was never selfish. I gave everything I could in this shirt and can find no reasons for receiving criticism," he said.
"It's very sad. I would like to have ended my career with the national team in a better way.
"I don't feel frustration, I feel very sad because we had the capacity to win this tournament. We gave everything in the game against Sweden, but it wasn't enough.
"We have only conceded two goals, one was a penalty and the other a free-kick and we got knocked out that way. I think we deserved to continue in the World Cup because our opponents weren't better than us," he added.
Batistuta won 77 caps for his country, scoring 57 goals, making him Argentina's all-time top marksman - 21 ahead of Diego Maradona.
The Roma striker was picked ahead of Hernan Crespo for the opening game of this summer's tournament and responded by scoring in the 1-0 victory over Nigeria.
However, the 33-year-old former Fiorentina man struggled in the defeat to England and the draw with Sweden.