BATIGOL | The Story of Gabriel Batistuta

The 1990s was the era of the footballing forward. Some of the most notorious and influential marksmen came to prominence during the decade, with the likes of Alan Shearer, Jürgen Klinsmann, George Weah and the almighty Ronaldo all staking their claim on the sport as the very best in the world at that time. However, there is one name which instilled more fear in opposition defenders than any other. Described by Diego Maradona as the finest striker he had ever seen, the man known simply as Batigol terrorised defences for nearly 20 years in his native Argentina, Italy and Qatar, as well as on the international stage where he, up until 2016, was his country's all-time leading goalscorer. He may only have two league titles to his name, but the way he made those in attendance feel arguably meant more to him than any piece of silverware. This is the story of Batigol, Gabriel Batistuta. Born in Avellaneda, a town in the province of Santa Fe, Gabriel grew up in the nearby city of Reconquista with his parents and three sisters. Growing up, Gabriel claimed that despite watching games, he was never fanatical about the sport of football. However, it was the sight of his native Argentina lifting the 1978 World Cup that persuaded young Gabriel to dedicate himself to the sport. After joining the Platense junior team, he was selected to play for the Reconquista team which would go on to win the provincial championship, with Gabriel scoring two goals in the final. It was this display that caught the eye of Jorge Grifa, the youth team coach at Newell's Old Boys, who approached Gabriel and offered him the chance to join the club. After an initial hesitancy due to living so far away and wanting to continue his studies, Gabriel finally relented and travelled the 460km south to Rosario to begin his professional career under Marcelo Bielsa at Newell's Old Boys. Not only were Newell's the reigning league champions, but were a club renowned for their youth system. Gabriel said of his arrival at Newell's that he went as he felt obligated to, as the club would pay for his education while he was there. After a brief loan spell with Deportivo Italiano, Batistuta returned to Newell's and began to cement his place in the first team and develop a reputation throughout the country as a powerful goalscorer. After just a single season at Newell's, his form attracted the attention of one of Argentina's biggest clubs, River Plate. In mid-1989, Batistuta made the move from Newell's to Los Millonarios as he looked to make the next step in his fledgling career. However, his time at River would not be easy, as coach Daniel Passarella left him out of the team. Determined to find the positives of being left out, Batistuta would go on to say that this led him to becoming stronger mentally and physically, despite this being a tough time in his career. Frustrated at his lack of game time, Batistuta was on the move again the following season, this time to his boyhood club and River's fierce rivals in Boca Juniors. Upon his arrival at La Bombonera, Gabriel initially found it tough once again, in part due to being played out of position. However, with the arrival of a new head coach at the beginning of 1991, Batistuta was finally played down the middle, where he rediscovered his best form. He finished top goalscorer for Boca in the Clasura as they finished top, scoring 11 goals. However, they would lose the Primera División title in a play-off to his former club Newell's Old Boys, who had won the Apertura. Following his first league champion at Boca, Batistuta was selected to play for Argentina at the 1991 Copa America. This is where his reputation skyrocketed as he finished as the competition's top goalscorer, netting six times as Argentina went on to win the tournament. With a number of clubs interested, it would be Italian club Fiorentina who would eventually win the race for his signature. This would be the club which would become synonymous with the name Gabriel Batistuta. In his debut season for La Viola, Batistuta found the net on 13 occasions, as Fiorentina finished 12th in Serie A. However, the following season saw Fiorentina relegated to Serie B, despite Batistuta contributing 16 league goals. Following their relegation, it was thought by many Fiorentina fans that their star man would move on to passers-new. Batistuta would prove his loyalty to the club and stayed at the Artemio Franchi, helping the club return to the top flight as champions, under the stewardship of new head coach Claudio Ranieri, at the first time of asking. Back in Serie A for the 1994-95 season, Batistuta finished top goalscorer in the league with 26 goals, as well as breaking a 32-year-old record held by Ezio Pasquuti by scoring in 11 games in a row at the start of the season. The following season, Batistuta lifted his first pieces of silverware with La Viola, as he helped Fiorentina win both the Coppa Italia, after a 3-1 aggregate victory over Atalanta, in which Batistuta scored two goals, and the Supercoppa Italiana, defeating AC Milan. As was the case throughout his career, there was major interest in Batistuta from Europe's elite clubs. However, he chose to stay with Fiorentina, due to his love for the club, and the challenge of winning trophies with a side seen as underdogs. To tell you the truth, that didn't interest me much. Although there were titles, they were easy to win. They didn't have to fight hard to win them, or even extend themselves slightly. One title with Fiorentina is worth 10 with Milan or Juventus. During this time, Batistuta had already played in his first of three World Cups in 1994. In his tournament debut, he scored a hat-trick in Argentina's opening game against Greece. However, his performance would be overshadowed by the aftermath of Diego Maradona's drug test, which saw the Argentinian legend expelled from the competition. Despite this, Argentina progressed to the knockout stages where they were eliminated by Romania, despite Batistuta scoring from the penalty spot early on in the game. Back in Florence, the 1996-97 season was a disappointment for Batistuta, as Fiorentina finished a lowly 9th in Serie A, as well as losing the Cup Winners' Cup semi-final against eventual winners Barcelona. His 24 goals in 36 games the following season, saw Batistuta selected for the 1998 World Cup in France where, once again, Argentina were seen as one of the favourites. After topping their group unbeaten, with Batistuta scoring 4 goals, Argentina would play England in the second round. In a match packed with incident and controversy, it would be a penalty shootout which would decide the game, with Argentina eventually breaking English hearts to progress. However, the Argentinians would be eliminated in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands, due to an iconic last-minute winner from Dutch talisman Dennis Bergkamp. Once again, Argentina had fallen short, despite Batistuta scoring 5 goals throughout the tournament. Despite his love for the club and his explosive goal-scoring exploits, Batistuta was entering his 30s at the turn of the millennium, and had to seriously consider whether he would ever win a league title. Finally, after nearly 10 years of service and 203 goals with La Viola, Batistuta made the move to Roma, the side he saw best suited to winning the Serie A title. The move was the highest fee ever paid for a player over the age of 30, until Leonardo Bonucci's move to AC Milan in 2017. Despite being happy to have joined the Giallorossi, he knew that he would have to face his former club throughout the season. This would be the case in November 2000, as he lined up against Fiorentina and, as if it was written in the stars, scored a trademark wonder goal against them. Following the goal, he looked visibly upset and refused to celebrate with his team-mates. After the game, Batistuta said, I played the whole match with these conflicting thoughts in my head. I am sorry for Fiorentina. It was important though because I want to win for Roma, so I was trying hard, but I cannot forget my past. Certainly I cannot say I am happy to have scored against my former team-mate, but Roma wanted the win. On the final day of the 2000-01 season, Batistuta would finally achieve his dream of lifting a league title in Italy. Scoring in a 3-1 victory over Parma at the Stadio Olimpico, to give Roma their first title since 1983. At his third and final World Cup appearance in 2002, now aged 33, Batistuta knew that this would be his last chance to claim the famous trophy. The Argentine campaign started brightly as they defeated Nigeria 1-0 in their opening game, with Batistuta scoring the decisive goal. Next up was England, bringing back memories from four years previous. It would be David Beckham's penalty which would give the English, and Beckham himself, their redemption over Argentina. A one-all draw in their final group game against Sweden saw Argentina eliminated at the group stage for the first time since 1962. It was a disappointment for both Argentina and Batistuta, as he knew that this would be his swan song on the biggest stage in the sport. Following their title-winning campaign, Batistuta's form would dip at Roma. After finding the net 21 times on their way to the league title, he would only score six goals in each of the following two seasons. In a bid to find form, he was sent on loan to Inter, where he only found the net twice. He was also offered to Premier League club Fulham, but manager Jean Tigana turned down the chance to sign him. Now aged 34, Batistuta left Roma in 2003 to see out the rest of his career in Qatar, playing for Al Arabi. In his first season for the club, he broke the league's goal-scoring record, netting 25 times in 18 games. He would play one more season at Al Arabi before officially hanging up his boots in 2005. The career of Gabriel Batistuta outlines that it is not the number of accolades that define what it means to be a world-class player. It is the way in which they make you feel, and how they inspire future generations to lace up their boots and attempt to replicate what their heroes have done. Following a 17-year career, Batistuta only won a handful of silverware, but it was the impact on the clubs he played for that defined him. He is still Fiorentina's all-time leading Serie A goal-scorer, having amassed 167 goals in 269 league appearances. He is their second-highest scorer of all time, a single goal behind Kurt Hamrin. As was the club's love for him, they built a statue in his honour. He was his country's all-time leading goal-scorer with 54 until the emergence of Lionel Messi. His unique style of play and ability to strike a ball with such controlled violence captivated crowds the world over. Many came before him, and many will come after, but there will only ever be one Bati goal.