From Roberto Baggio you know everything, football-wise. But to tell the story of the man, the father and also the husband, a particular interview was needed. One in a kind. He succeeded.”Archipelago”the editorial project developed by CP Company two years ago, in ‘The Sacred Game’, the annual issue of the magazine entirely dedicated to telling the world of football firsthand. A dreamlike and romantic journey, capable of going beyond the boundaries of sport. And who if not Baggio, the man who made Italy dream? However, this time it was his daughter Valentina who interviewed him with the help of two collaborators: the brothers Mattia and Leonardorecently seen in Brescia in the company of his father, in the match between Germani and Olimpia Milano on May 30th.
Together with them also his mother Andreina, who with Roby had to tell the genesis of their love. And here the tastiest anecdotes of one began couple who have been together for over 40 years (34 of marriage) successfully the path of a love that remained granite and always away from the spotlight. Unique because simple.
The love born before the retreat with Vicenza (the record as a pledge)
«We went to the same school – says Roberto – not in the same section, we lived 50 meters from each other. I met her on a Sunday evening, on the eve of my departure for my first training camp with Vicenza football, I was 15 years old: I stopped her in front of the house, she was beautiful, she was passing by on her bike. In those days there were no cell phones, the car was a possession for a few, so months passed before we saw each other again: We were both never fans of discos and so we spent our time quietly listening to vinyl and watching TV. Remembering those times – she says – still excites me, I would really like you young people to appreciate these moments of simplicity instead of always being on your cell phone… ».
But Andreina intervenes explaining that it wasn’t love at first sight. Baggio, however, won it over with the same tenacity shown on the pitch when he had to get back up after too many injuries: «I wasn’t interested initially, but I immediately understood how determined and stubborn he was. He was also skilled at using stratagems: even then he asked me to pawn a credit card from my grandmother, telling me that he would bring it back to me once he returned from retirement, so we would have an excuse to see each other again. I continuously received his postcards and we also made the decision to keep a shared diary: once he wrote, once I wrote and so when we exchanged it we had the feeling of having always been together.” Roberto is grateful to his wife: «We shared the values that united us, Buddhism amplified the value of this precious treasure. She put family first, without my wife I would never have reached certain goals».
The children, their games seen from the car (except one…)
The values, yes. It is the sons, Mattia and Leonardo, who tell the teachings of a father who always preferred to remain on the sidelines during their first kicks: «Dad’s match – explains the first – was the event of the week, I tried to find any sorry to be with him, for example I pretended to be sick to go to his training sessions. The best thing, however, was to go to Argentina with him. I also remember that when I played, dad could only watch me hidden in the car to avoid being attacked by the fans.” And here Roby intervenes, telling an episode which shows the detachment towards a certain way of understanding football on the part of some parents: «Once on the pitch I heard a father say to his 10 year old son: “If you don’t score you won’t eat”. Today I believe there is too much protection, what is missing is precisely the path, getting hurt, getting back up, guided by the desire to learn to tame that ball. I also believe that parents should stop taking out their frustrations on their children, they should leave them more free, they do nothing but ruin their lives with their constant pressure.” Humility remains the watchword in the Baggio household and this is confirmed by Leo, the youngest, who was unable to admire him in person: «Only as I grew up did I understand what his career was, but dad was able to pass on the fundamental values to us For the life: respect for others, being humble, knowing how to have fun with simple things, using our skills in all the things we do, also teaching us how important it is to have fun while doing them.”
The message to young people: make harmony and dialogue central again
Roberto Baggio’s moral testament is in his last sentence, for the new generations: «In all of humanity I would like peaceful coexistence, harmony and above all dialogue to be central again: this is my wish, for us, for you and for all the young people on the planet.”
