Italian football legend Roberto Baggio was robbed and beaten at gunpoint while watching Italy’s European Championship match with Spain with his family at home on Thursday.
At 10 p.m. local time, at least five armed men forced their way into a villa in Vicentina, Altavilla, northern Italy.
Media reports said Baggio, 57, tried to fight the thieves and one of them hit him in the head with the butt of a gun. The former Ballon d’Or winner was then confined to a room with his family while thieves ransacked the house, making off with jewellery, watches and cash.
After the raid, when Baggio felt the danger had passed, he broke in and called the police.
He was taken to hospital in Arzignano and received stitches on his forehead, local sources reported. His family was not harmed.
Baggio, considered one of the greatest footballers of all time and affectionately known as the “Holy Ponytail,” played for clubs including Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan, Inter Milan, Bologna and Brescia.
In 1999, he finished fourth in the FIFA Player of the Century online voting. Baggio is the only Italian player to have scored in three World Cups and is tied with Italy as the top scorer in this tournament.
In 1993, he was named FIFA Player of the Year and awarded the prestigious Ballon d’Or. A year later, at the World Cup in the United States, Baggio led the Italian team to the final.
His missed penalty in the final against Brazil remains an iconic moment in football and Baggio admits the unforgettable memory still haunts him.
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Recently, Italian team coach Luciano Spalletti invited Baggio and four other Italian football icons – Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti, Gianni Ri Villa and Giancarlo Antonioni – are part of Italy’s Euro 2024 preparation camp, injecting some veteran influence into the current crop of players.
