From football Italia
Baggio calls it a day Wednesday 31 March, 2004
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Roberto Baggio has ended all doubt surrounding his future by confirming he will hang up his boots at the end of the season.
“This time I really am sure,” said the Divine Ponytail in an interview with the TG1 news. “I will quit in May.”
The 37-year-old had already made this statement, but there was always an element of doubt.
Fans, colleagues and pundits have mounted a campaign to convince him to reconsider, but it seems that scoring his 200th Serie A goal proved the final ambition.
“I hope that I have been a good example for young people during my career,” he continued, “as I never gave in despite many injuries. Football is my passion.”
It therefore seems as if Baggio’s final match as a professional football player will be at the San Siro against his former club Milan on May 16 2004.
The former World Player of the Year has played for seven clubs during his career – Vicenza, Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan, Bologna, Inter and Brescia.
But his international experiences have been tinged with heartbreak, in particular the penalty miss in the 1994 World Cup Final.
“I only managed to stop thinking of that moment after the France ’98 tournament,” he revealed. “It took me four years to exorcise those demons.”
However, there could yet be another chapter of his troubled Azzurri career, as Giovanni Trapattoni has confirmed he could call Baggio for the April friendly against Spain.
“I hope that this will happen,” smiled the ‘Divin Codino’. “It would give me a great deal of pleasure to wear the Italy shirt again.”
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