Chapter 7 7. "Denying a penalty kick" is not my fault

During the 1990 World Cup, although I had moved to Juventus, I publicly stated that I was playing for the national team as a Fiorentina player.It came naturally to me because it was Florence who got me off the ground.But Juventus fans were very dissatisfied. On the first day of the team's summer training on July 30, they distributed leaflets, which read: "Your behavior and statements have deeply hurt our self-esteem." In the meeting with the media and the fans, instead of wrapping the Juventus scarf around my neck, I put it on the chair next to me.I didn't mean to do that, it was crowded and rushed.But the media made a big fuss about it.

During my years in Turin, I never fully adjusted to my new surroundings and often missed Florence.The transfer incident has made me morose and sullen.I closed myself up, this is an instinctive self-protection.I almost never spend the night in Turin, fleeing to my hometown of Caldogno whenever possible to be with my pregnant wife. After my daughter was born, I even went home immediately after training.I often put on my pajamas and play with my daughter by 5pm.Nothing is more important than family and I always put family first.I have a lot of responsibility for not integrating with Juventus.

I have a very good relationship with the new coach Manfredini. He formed a team with me as the center. It started well and hoped to compete for the league championship. In the end, he even lost the qualifications for the three major European cups.We are a special team, playing well, scoring four or five goals with ease, some games are abnormal, for example in the game against Genoa, we attacked for 85 minutes and lost at the end. The team has been up and down, and I think there are people who are against the new coach, but I won't name them.Manfredini is a good man and a good coach, and his failure is my failure.

In my first season at Juventus, I scored 14 goals in 32 games.But what people talk about so far is the so-called "denied penalty kick" episode on April 6, 1991 at the Frankie Stadium in Florence.What I want to say is that in the two games against Fiorentina in the first season after arriving at Juventus, I had no luck.The home game was on December 2, 1990, the day my daughter was born, and I didn't want to play this game at all, I just wanted to be with my wife right away.I went to the race with a high fever and hurried home after the race. When I first returned to Frankie Stadium as an opponent, the atmosphere was very heavy.Some Fiorentina fans called me a mercenary, a Judas, when I transferred.Some old friends came to visit me, and they were worried that something might happen, so I tried to comfort them instead.In fact, I am also very nervous. How could I not be nervous in front of the stadium and fans in the past?

Before the game, I told Coach Manfredini that if there is a penalty in the game, I will not take it.It's not because I don't want to shoot the ball into Fiorentina's goal, I'm a professional footballer, not a kid.The point is that Fiorentina goalkeeper Maregini has been practicing penalty kicks with me in the past and knows me well. If I take the penalty kick, it will be in his favor. So Manfredini decided that the penalty shooter for this game was D'Agostini.We got a penalty in the game, but Maregini saved D'Agostini's penalty.Had D'Agostini scored from the penalty spot, there would have been less gossip.

There was another episode in this game.When I was substituted, a Fiorentina scarf fell from the audience. I instinctively picked it up, and the whole Frenkie Stadium cheered.For me, this is also a natural thing, a farewell to the Fiorentina fans.Although they kept booing me during the game, I couldn't forget the love they showed me over the years.I know it offended the Juventus fans again, but I don't regret doing it.I'm a player, but I'm a person first.I am an emotional person. In the face of a lot of criticism, Coach Manfredini came forward to protect me.He hugged me in public in the locker room. He said in the post-match press conference that Baggio is not a mercenary, but a human being. He also added that his dream is not to be the coach of a strong team, but to be a coach of Baggio. The coach of Joe's team.His words have remained in my heart.