20 years without the magic of Baggio, the “Divine Mat” has remained an icon of football that no longer exists

“Since Baggio no longer plays, it’s no longer Sunday”. Cesare sang it Cremoninimany think so from there On May 16, 2004, a little over 20 years ago, in which the Divine Codino played his last match. At the “Scala” of football we celebrated the scudetto of Milan and at the same time we said goodbye to him, the number 10 who, in the jersey of Brescia, closed a magical parable, capable of giving joy and pain, especially physical (two menisci less, the ligaments of a reconstructed knee, three operations, two years without playing).

It was May 16, 20 years ago when Caldogno's boy with crystal eyes and knees he said goodbye to football in a San Siro bathed in tears. Emotion and gratitude, admiration and awareness that his magic of the ball will remain unique, irreplaceable. Baggio leaves the field in the 39th minute, a performance announced and deserved.
Twenty years later, Baggio is today a happy man, he rarely follows football “by choice” and cultivates his passions, his family.

Michel Platini called it “more than a 10, a nine and a half”; for many he was an artist, for others the best Italian footballer, and not only thanks to the Ballon d'Or he won in 1993. With the ball at his feet he was the most Brazilian Italian who ever existed, but above all he was the player most loved by supporters, even if he was a little less so by some coaches.
Baggio has united all of Italy with fans who love pure beauty. He was able to wear the “opponent” jerseys of Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan and Inter, and the fans were rather divided for him – as in 1990 for the change from purple to black and white – not against him . The goals in Italy 90, the tears for the missed penalty in Pasadena during the 1994 World Cupthe magic on the pitch, the injuries and rebirths, the conversion to Buddhism, the total farewell to the world of football, the happy retirement in Argentina.

“As Baggio no longer plays, it's no longer Sunday”, sang Cesare Cremonini in 2005, in the wake of“Bolognese experience of the “divine pigtail”. Art on the ground has met art in music on other occasions: in 2001, Lucio Dalla sang “Baggio, Baggio”, and more recently, it was the refined voice of Diodato who celebrated “L'homme behind the champion”, which is part of the soundtrack of the film “Il Divin Codino”.

Magic like a movie, and recurring figures

From the 10 tattooed in all memories and on almost all the jerseys of the teams for which he played, to the 18 of his parenthesis in Milan and in the national team during the 98 World Cup in France. Without forgetting the 15 worn in Magic Nights of Italy '90. But Baggio's numbers are also the statistics of his dazzling career.

Baggio hung up after 643 professional matches for clubsfrom his debut with Vicenza to his beloved Fiorentina, through the transfer to Juventus, amid controversies and trophies (the 93 Ballon d'Or also arrived in black and white), the seasons in Milan (d first Milan, then Inter), interspersed with the parenthesis in Bologna, which regenerated him and took him to the 98 World Cup, until the discovery of Brescia, for an end of career written by drawing the magic until the end, with the disappointment of not having been called to the 2002 World Cup Cup 291 goals, almost impossible to count the assists.

A brilliant player and quiet leader, Roberto Baggio was one of a kind. Legend, poetry, music. Until for many “it was no longer Sunday”