Pep Guardiola Reveals His Story When He Was a Team with Roberto Baggio

DBasia.news – The mid-1980s to the 1990s were the heyday of Italian football with intense competition in Serie A. Maestros were born and competed there in processing the round skin.

Just name some of the names such as Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten, Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero, to the Italian icon Roberto Baggio. Regarding the player nicknamed Il Divin Codino, Pep Guardiola shared his story.

The Manchester City manager played with Baggio when he was still playing at Brescia (2001-2002 and 2003). Guardiola knows very well that Baggio plays a unique role as a player numbered 9.5.

The meaning of 9.5 indicates that Baggio is neither a pure striker nor a playmaker. His playing position can be as an attacker or attacking midfielder with high technical quality, good dribbling and set-piece execution.

When talking to Corriere dello Sport Guardiola is happy to recruit Baggio into his team if he is still actively playing. Baggio can score 50 goals per season and will be a false nine for Guardiola’s team.

“If he reconsiders retiring and getting fit, I will be more than happy to sign Baggio!” said Guardiola.

“In my team, he will definitely be False 9. He doesn’t have to run too much, but on the other hand he has 500 touches per game and scores 50 goals per season.”

“I don’t know if he will win more Ballon d’Or trophies in this day and age. He will face two aliens like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, so this is fantasy football and it is impossible to know how it is going.”

Guardiola’s admiration for the former defensive midfielder for Baggio is timeless. Guardiola believes Baggio will continue to shine if he plays in the latest generation of modern football.

“If Baggio was playing in football at this time, he would have scored 50 goals per season. No doubt about it,” added Guardiola.

“Not with me alone or Manchester City, I mean the coach and any team. Roby is a phenomenon when he plays basically with only one good leg and in Italian football where at that time it was very difficult for a striker to defend.”

“At that time, there was very little space and at most four or five chances per game, but he always managed to score goals and often in extraordinary situations. Roby was there with Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten, Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del. Piero.”