Batistuta: 'England are really going to want to beat us this time'
May 18, 2002
The Saturday interview: Gabriel Batistuta plans to leave a mark on his final World Cup - perhaps at the expense of Argentina's fiercest enemy, writes Marcela Mora y Araujo
As one of this World Cup's most famous names, however, Batistuta does not intend to bow out quietly. He is Argentina's all-time top scorer, with 56 goals in 75 internationals, and his nine goals in two previous World Cup finals better the achievements of any of his compatriots. Diego Maradona needed three finals to score eight.
The Guardian
The distinctive long brown hair and blue eyes do not suggest a man approaching the end of his career.Gabriel Omar Batistuta's nice-guy good looks retain a childlike innocence, but at the ripe old age of 33, the Argentinian arrived in Japan on Thursday knowing this would be his final appearance on the game's biggest stage.
During the last World Cup, the Argentinian consulate in London was flooded with phone calls from English schoolgirls wanting to know where they could get posters of "Batigol". But as he relaxes by a swimming pool in Rome, the only hint of a short fuse relates to his posing for photographs - something he has always claimed to hate, despite his expert pout.
When he discusses the World Cup and the infamous "group of death", however, Batistuta oozes measured confidence. "I think we're a very good team, among the best," he says. "But let's face it, we're in the hardest group of the World Cup. No doubt about it. Nigeria are one of the strongest teams in Africa, the Swedes didn't lose once in the qualifying rounds, and England are a great team, always a danger at World Cup level."
Batistuta dismisses the burden of history surrounding the latest clash with England on June 7. "That kind of thing doesn't even enter my mind," he says. "Personally I can't take the blame for what politicians did in 1982. I can't take on some kind of revenge or change history. I want to beat England because I want to win every game I play but not because we went to war in 1982, or because we played against each other in 1998."
But he does concede that, for the English, the defeat on penalties at the last World Cup (he opened the scoring with a penalty) may have a motivational effect for Sven-Goran Eriksson's side. When asked to name the England players Argentina most need to watch out for, he laughs heartily. "All of them! We knocked them out in '98 - they're really going to want to beat us this time."
It turns out he is a big fan of English football. "I'm very attracted by the whole spectacle: the passionate commitment of the players. A team that has already been relegated will play against the top of the league with gusto, willing to run until the last minute, giving everything on the pitch. And also the fans, no fences, that kind of thing. It's all very good for the show of football."
Again he refuses to pick out any individuals. "England's is a very solid squad but I can't name a particular player; a team is all the players and they're good. Don't ask me for specific names."
At 6ft 1in tall, Batistuta stands above the average Argentinian.He is naturally right-footed, so he has made a point of training his left one to shoot. A classic No9, he gets his goals through power, logic and strength, and rarely leaves the area.
When the Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri managed him at Fiorentina in the mid-90s, the Italian said: "I know Batistuta very well and I would say he is a better player than Ronaldo." Another of his coaches, Oscar Tabarez, who gave Batistuta his chance at Boca Juniors in 1991, was more succinct: "Batistuta is one of the best centre-forwards I've ever seen in my life." The people of Florence evidently agreed, erecting a bronze statue of their hero before his move to Roma in 2000.
But Batistuta was picked for only five of Argentina's 18 qualifiers. He has not had a good season for Roma, and a mixture of injury and below-par performances mean that he looks unlikely to be in Marcelo Bielsa's starting line-up in Japan.
Batistuta shrugs off the criticism. "I've managed to reach a sort of equilibrium over the years. I know perfectly well that in football you have good times and you have bad times. To me this doesn't signify a serious problem, just a will for things to improve."
Certainly, if he is worried about under-performing in Japan and Korea, he does not show it. "My relationship with the national squad is a separate thing; I've always been lucky in that for Argentina I've always performed well, independently of what's been going on at any club. I feel sure of myself, calm and confident."
If Batistuta does not start, Hernan Crespo will play in his position. Much has been made of this rivalry, with bad blood allegedly existing between the two. Once again, Batistuta seems unperturbed.
"We both play for Argentina. We're both goalscorers. To me that is the exact opposite of a problem. The manager has made it clear that he plays either one of us and not both, but I don't have a problem with Hernan and I'm sure he doesn't with me. He is now at Lazio and I am at Roma, which serves the media circus well - I think it's more of an issue for journalists than for us."
This last comment is delivered with something of a smirk, as though he relishes the opportunity to lash out against the press. Yet his name is often prefixed by "Archangel" in the media, a reference to his reputedly strong Catholic faith. He crosses himself whenever he steps on to a pitch, and has met the Pope in the Vatican.
Batistuta is married with three sons, and is active in charity work - "we're under the public lens all day, so any little thing we do has more effect than if someone else does it". In France 98, after becoming the first player to score a hat-trick, he donated a special McDonald's cash award of $25,000 (£17,000) to an Argentinian children's charity.
But he draws the line between off-the-pitch social concern and an on-the-pitch sense of duty to his beleaguered homeland. Argentina is going through the worst economic crisis of its history and its football-mad population craves a World Cup success like never before.
"I don't think we're going to be able to solve the country's problems by winning the World Cup," Batistuta says. "Absolutely not. I hope people aren't thinking that. All we can hope to do is bring them a little joy but we won't find them a job."
Still, could the fact that football is increasingly being touted as the only hope of joy in the country be an added weight on the Argentinian team's shoulders?
"I know what you mean," he concedes. "For the younger players, maybe. I hope not, though. I'm sure we'll talk about it and it'll come up, and my view will be this: we can't go out on to the pitch in order to solve the Argentinian crisis."
Nevertheless, should Batistuta find the net during his final World Cup adventure, his legend back home will be complete. And the demand for Batigol posters may just hit a new peak.