Today is the birthday of the highest scorer in the history of the NT, Gabriel Omar Batistuta. He is the only player to sore a hat trick in 2 different world cups. Had things worked out differently, he could have won 2 golden boots in the WC. A legend every where he played, even in Qatar.
To me Gabriel Batistuta represents the last in a long line of true Argentine football icons. It is the final manifestation of a dying breed. Dead cool on the pitch, a gentleman off it. Good mannered, successful, brutally honest --he never went for the cheap talk to the point of confessing football was a mere profession for him- and a role model for many football stars around the world. I don't think there will ever be another striker like him. I don't think I have seen any other player strike the ball with such force and anger. In his prime, you would have thought he just couldn't miss the goal; it was either in or a great save by the keeper. He played under many coaches, some of which he didn't get along with, yet he always knew his place. I was really sad when he quit the NT. I felt a part of me had just died. Gabriel Batistuta was not just a great striker. He was a class act. He made us all proud. I hope he is well and I wish him the best in his personal and professional life.
Or else the ball -forcefully and angry- bounced right off the post, and that's how close we came to defeating Holland and possibly winning the 98 World Cup.
You just had to ruin my day, didn't you? I still remember that awful day. I could not watch the game since I was at the time sitting for an exam. I had taken my walkman and since the exam was running late, I was able to listen the match until its devastating conclusion. Five minutes after the end of the game, I was called in for the exam. I skimmed quickly through the questions and I knew at that moment I would be failing the exam. In the end, I handed it over less than an hour into it and that was my only bad mark in my undergraduate studies. An awful day indeed.
Batistuta, for me, sealed the deal on which sport I would care about for the rest of my life. Here in the United States, our attention is divided amongst several sports which happen throughout the years and soccer here is seen as a girls game (not so much now, but growing up yes). Anyhow, Bati, played this game with a passion, love and strength which few people had. His shots on goal were like a laser guided canon. If it didn't go thru the net, it chipped the paint on the posts. I've yet to see anyone play the game with such fierce and manic determination to get the ball inside the goal. Understated, a family man, and a complete gentleman at all times. Always made you proud to say that you like him were Argentine. I can only imagine what the Milan players who made up the wall were thinking? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZxwEkZvAwQ"]YouTube- Gabriel Batistuta: 5 Meter Free Kick[/ame] Against the world: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci0HCpJWpKk&feature=related"]YouTube- Batistuta Camp Nou Shut up[/ame]