Serie A legend Gabriel Omar Batistuta admits he “didn’t enjoy playing football” and says there is still “no answer” to the Messi-Maradona debate.
The former Fiorentina, Roma and Inter star published an interview with Gazzetta on Friday in which he spoke about Argentina’s World Cup campaign and his football career.
Former Atalanta and Lazio defender Lionel Scaloni already led Argentina to World Cup victory four years ago, and the defending champions remain among the favorites to win this summer’s tournament.
Batistuta: “Italians can’t talk about easy matches”
“The team is happy with him (Scaloni),” Batistuta said.
“To be honest, this is football. You don’t have to study to the moon. If the relationship between the manager and the team is good, that’s a big achievement. Everyone will follow his ideas, and Scaloni has been successful in that.”
Argentina will face Cape Verde in the Round of 32 in just a few hours, but is Batistuta confident his compatriots will easily progress to the next round?
“Calm down…you Italians don’t talk about easy games,” he replied jokingly.
“Honestly, I’m confident, but I’m not relaxed. The group stage and playing to advance or get home are two different things. Everyone talks about it, but they forget that football is about chasing the ball. Sometimes the ball hits the post, and you don’t know if it’s going to go in or go out.”
When asked what he misses about being a footballer, the Argentine legend replied: “Nothing. Partly because of the pain and also knowing that people are paying money to watch me, but I enjoy playing football. I didn’t allow myself to enjoy it. When I scored, I felt it was my responsibility to put on a great show. And I wasn’t born to be Maradona. I had to work for Maradona.”
“I’ve been hard on myself for 40 years, but now I’m living with joy with what I have left,” he added.
“Like everyone, I don’t know how long this situation will last. I have cattle in the countryside of Reconquista, my hometown. Usually I take care of them, but sometimes I need to take care of them directly, which I do. When I do, I travel with FIFA Legends, which is very nice.”
What about his old club Fiorentina?
“I follow them, but I have left Fiorentina a little bit. I know that they have hired Fabio Grosso and I know that he has performed well in recent years. I will be returning to Florence at the end of the summer for the club’s 100th anniversary celebrations.”
At the end, Gazzetta asked him whether he liked Messi or Maradona, and Batty responded with another dry joke: “Hey, I was told this is not a boring interview, it’s a serious interview. To tell you the truth, we’re asking ourselves that question too…but we don’t have an answer.”
Batistuta won the Scudetto with Roma in the 2000-01 season, scoring 183 goals in 318 Serie A games.
