The world of football has seen some extraordinary players. Footballers par excellence. Perhaps thatai??i??s the only way one can describe Gabriel Omar Batistuta. Born in Santa Fe, Argentina, Batistuta is undoubtedly one of the best strikers the world has ever seen.
The dashing Argentine did not start off with football but the 1978 World Cup victory, inspired by Mario Kempes, inspired Batistuta as well ai??i?? the world of football was never the same again. After starting off with Newellai??i??s Old Boys (a club which has Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona as alumni) Batistuta moved to River Plate and then their arch-rivals Boca Juniors ai??i?? a feat achieved by the likes of Claudio Caniggia, Nelson Vivas, et al. He then made a giant leap to Europe to Fiorentina, Italy.
Legend. Perhaps thatai??i??s the only way one can designate Batistuta for the Viola. He stayed there for almost a decade and scored goals at will. The first two years were a tad shaky but BatiGol (as heai??i??s fondly called by fans) ended up with 33 goals in two seasons ai??i?? a fine piece of statistic for a 22-year old, making his foray on Europe. What made him a fan-favourite is his decision to stay with the Viola when they got relegated in 1993 and Batistuta played at his top of his game to bring the club back to top-tier football. In 1995, the Argentine marksman won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa and further established himself as Fiorentinaai??i??s favourite son.
After spending almost decade with Fiorentina, Batistutaai??i??s desire to win the Scudetto and AS Romaai??i??s insistence secured a move to the capital side and won them their first Scudetto in almost two decades.
On the international front Gabriel Batistuta represented Argentina in three world cups ai??i?? 1994, 1998, 2002. Heai??i??s the fourth player to score two hattricks in the biggest football extravaganza after Kocsis, Fontaine and Muller. With ten goals in World Cups and over 50 for the Argentine national team, Batistuta is perhaps one of the finest forwards to have graced the game. Blessed with skill, power, pace and immense determination, BatiGol deserves to be there right at the top along with other legends of the beautiful game.
Note: TheHardTackle wishes BatiGol a very happy birthday. This is a tribute to the legendary marksman in our own special way.
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