Gabriel Batistuta
Gabriel Batistuta in 2006
Gabriel Omar Batistuta, nicknamed Batigol, ( born 1 February 1969 in Reconquista, Argentina ) is a former Argentine footballer.
Batistuta is with 168 gates still the top scorer of Fiorentina and lies in the time list of scorers of Italy's top league with 184 goals in 318 games in ninth place. In March 2004, he was the list of the 125 greatest living footballers picked up by Pelé in the FIFA 100.
Career
In the club
In Italy, where Batistuta spent most of his career, he is legendary. In Florence, where he played with Stefan Effenberg, built the Viola fans in 1996, a life-size bronze statue in his honor. He is also of Italian descent, like many Argentine football player. In March 2005, he finished his career after a series of injuries.
Batistuta started his professional career in 1988 with the Argentine club Newell 's Old Boys, where he already went through several youth teams. But in his first season managed the attacker does not prevail. For this reason, he was soon awarded it to the unterklassigen Deportivo Italiano of Buenos Aires, where he rose to the top goalscorer of the club. In the summer of 1989, Batistuta went on to become one of the most famous clubs of his native country to CA River Plate. There he developed a top performer, but was dropped after problems with coach Daniel Passarella from the squad. After only one year with the Los Millonarios he therefore moved to the big competitors Boca Juniors. Because a long time without match practice he came, however, difficult approached its top performance. Only when Óscar Washington Tabarez Bocas new coach was, put this more on Batistuta and led him back to its former strength, so that he succeeded in his second season twenty hits in 29 official matches. In summer 1991, the striker finally dared to move to Europe and signed at Fiorentina. In his debut season in Serie A, the offensive player will immediately thirteen league goals. The following season he increased his yield by three goals. Despite these results Batistuta could not avert relegation to Serie B. The Fiorentina managed but then its chances of promotion. During 1994/ 95, the Argentine broke the thirty year-old record of Ezio Pascutti by one each overcame the opposing goalkeeper in the first eleven encounters. At season's end, there were 26 gates on the credit side of the striker, making it the title of the scorer secured. For the 1995/96 season the club won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa secured. For championship was not enough since his arrival in Florence but. Finally, the superstar threatened to leave the ACF. For this reason, the Board hired for the League beginning in 1998/99 Giovanni Trapattoni as new coach who previously coached top teams like Bayern Munich, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. With Trap it was enough but then only to rank 3 In the following season failed to materialize the desired success and so Batistuta decided in the summer of 2000, a change to the capital club AS Roma. Despite some injuries, managed the striker on 20 goals for his new club. He was the best attacker of his team and the fourth best of the League and helped his team to the first league title since 1983 and third league success at all in the Roma club's history. Shortly after, he also secured the second time in his career, the Italian Supercup. Because the form of weakness for the season 2002/ 03 decided the Rome - makers to give the attacker the second round of league rival Inter Milan. But even with the Internazionale he did not make the performance improvement. In the summer of 2003 it finally lured the end of his career in the club al -Arabi in Qatar. There, get him 25 goals in 21 games, which he set a league record and was awarded at the end of the season with the " Golden Boot ". In 2008, Batistuta goals record from Brasilianier Clemerson de Araújo Soares was improved to 27 goals.
In the National Team
( incomplete) His debut in the Argentine national team gave Batistuta 1991. 1991 and 1993 he won the Copa America with Argentina. After the World Cup 2002, he announced his retirement. Batistuta is the only player to get three goals in two World Cup finals in a game (1994 in the USA 's 4-0 against Greece and in France in 1998 in the 5-0 against Jamaica). In 78 international matches, he scored 56 goals and is the leading scorer in the history of the Argentine team. For this reason his nickname is " Batigol ".
Achievements / Title
As a national player
- Copa América: 1991, 1993
- Confed Cup: 1992
With its clubs
- Italian Champion: 2000/ 01
- Italian Cup Winners: 1995/96
- Italian Super Cup winner: 1996, 2001
- Italian second division champions: 1993/94
Awards
- South America's Footballer of the Year: 1991
- Argentine Footballer of the Year: 1998
- Best foreign player in Serie A: 1998
- FIFA 100
- Top scorer: Copa América: 1991, 1995
- Confed Cup: 1992
- Serie A: 1995
- Coppa Italia: 1996
- Qatar Stars League: 2004
- The second-best scorer ( " Silver Shoe " ) at the 1998 World Cup
Polo
Inspired by his friendship with the Argentine polo player Adolfo Cambiaso Batistuta has begun in recent years to play polo and has now reached Handicap 0. At that took place in March 2009, " Argentina Polo Tour " he has played with Cambiaso in the team " Loro Piana " and won with this the " Copa Stella Artois ".