No problem. If you have any other questions don’t hesitate in asking. It seemed that Guerin Sportivo was not grading players in European competition during Platini’s era. Here’s an example of a 1985 tie vs Verona: There may be grades in other Italian sources but for GS there is none.
Adalberto Bortolotti’s Top 10 best Hit Parade and top 3 worst on the right side under “Dietro La Lavagna” GS round 8
Adalberto Bortolotti’s Top 10 best Hit Parade and top 3 worst on the right side under “Dietro La Lavagna” GS round 9
GS columnist, Giorgio Tosatti, around November 1993 voiced his opinion on the state of Italian football. He compared it to the recent past and stated that the game had changed for the worse, the spectacle had declined in quality, and that there was a lack of true world-class calibre players like Maradona, Platini, Falcao, Van Basten and Matthaus. The fact that the best players this season, like Gullit, Baresi or Vierchowod, etcétera, men from the old guard, truly showed that the talent had dried up in comparison to the previous decade.
You are welcome. What I do remember is Platini receiving a grade of a 9 out of 10 from I think El Gráfico for his performance in the 1985 Intercontinental championship match against Argentinos Juniors. For GS it was like this: I also remember that Gazzetta dello Sport did rate some of the European Cup matches, but I only have a few in my possession from that 1984-1986 period. If I find them again I’d post it here.
So what I do know is that I had the Gazzetta quarterfinal ties between Juve-Barcelona from the 1986 European cup. First leg: Second: It is possible I may have the Verona-Juve matches from that same competition of the second round, but can’t find it at the moment. I have the Juve-Real Madrid ties of 1986-87 I think. I will see to add it.
Adalberto Bortolotti’s Top 10 best Hit Parade and top 3 worst on the right side under “Dietro La Lavagna” GS round 10
For the French club years, at the UEFA Cup, I can only assume that some French publication gave ratings but I don’t have any of that information. At Juventus, Gazzetta dello Sport and other similar newspapers graded him but my information is only available from late 1985. Guerin Sportivo certainly did not grade European games until mostly after 1987.
Adalberto Bortolotti’s Top 10 best Hit Parade and top 3 worst on the right side under “Dietro La Lavagna” GS round 11
Adalberto Bortolotti’s Top 10 best Hit Parade and top 3 worst on the right side under “Dietro La Lavagna” GS round 12
Adalberto Bortolotti’s Top 10 best Hit Parade and top 3 worst on the right side under “Dietro La Lavagna” GS round 13
Adalberto Bortolotti’s Top 10 best Hit Parade and top 3 worst on the right side under “Dietro La Lavagna” GS round 14
Quick question: Given their comparative contemporary grades, is Signori a little under-rated, as he was considered even better than Baggio. Or perhaps Baggio a little overrated, as his performances weren't graded as generationally great or anything special like that.
If you are basing it solely on this period between 1992-1993, Signori was certainly regarded the best domestic performer across various sources and in the Ballon d’Or voting he made the top 25 list, with Baggio ranked number 1. But these awards tend to go to the most promoted players that play for the richest high-profile clubs and countries. Lazio was generally a mid-table team in that era, with a reduced budget. Signori was not a household name, and was not highly publicized by the Italian press. He was a virtually unknown before 1992, spending mostly the beginning of his career in Serie C and B, and only made it to the first division at the age of 23. R. Baggio was already in the first division club of Fiorentina around the age of 18-19 and already considered the best upcoming player since his Vicenza days at Serie C1, where he was crowned best player in his division around the age of 17, helping the club make it to promotion in Serie B. This is why Fiorentina acquired his services. Signori, who is only 1 year younger, at that stage was in regional leagues and only made it to Serie C1 at the age of 19 moving between clubs of Piacenza and Trento. In regards to Baggio and his standing, he may have been overrated in the grand scope of things, but he had already built a reputation of years climbing stages to reach the top. In 1993 he had also a good campaign, finally performed well in contrast to previous seasons in the league for Juve, starred in the UEFA Cup triumph, and led his country as the key figure in WC qualification.