Chapter 42 41．heroic nature

The World Cup in France is about to start in two weeks, and people can be heard in the streets and alleys of Italy humming the theme of the 1998 World Cup, "The Cup of Life" sung by Ricky Martin, gol, gol, gol, ale , ale, ale... The Italian team went to Sweden for the last warm-up match before the World Cup with the Swedish team.The Italian team did not have good luck in that game. The Swedish high center Ken Anderson took advantage of a corner kick to score the only goal of the game, giving the Italian team a taste of being defeated by an average team. shame.What made the old Maldini a little relieved was that after Roberto Baggio came on in the second half, he showed a very good state and scored a very wonderful goal.It's a pity that he was penalized for offside first.Although Baggio didn't play the whole game, he was still considered Italy's best performer in the match.Baggio wasn't overjoyed by the comments, saying: "It's true that I try to do my best to play well and to be noticed. Now I'm ready for everything and look forward to having the opportunity to impress people at the World Cup." Realize my value." On June 10, 1998, with the whistle of the Brazil-Scotland game, the World Cup in France kicked off.

On the second day of the competition, that is, on June 11, Italy faced its first opponent, the Chilean team, in Bordeaux, France's wine country.Although the team does not have any famous names in world football, in recent years there have been famous shooters in world football such as Zamorano and Salas. Therefore, the team's attack power is relatively strong and should not be underestimated. Its striker "Shuangsa" is considered to be an attack line comparable to Brazil's "Double Luo", especially the new American footballer Salas, who has just scored two goals in the warm-up match against England, which made the England were humiliated at home.

Because Piero was injured in the Champions League final in May, he was unable to play for a while, so Baggio was able to start and participate in the first game of the Italian team in this cup.The game was played very fiercely, and the fierce offensive of the Chilean team made the Italian team a little passive for a while.But in the 10th minute of the game, the Italian team got a quick counterattack opportunity. Baggio received a pass from his teammate on the left side of the front court, took advantage of the situation and nudged the ball in the middle, and passed it to Vieri who quickly inserted it.Vieri made a push and the ball went into the net.With the exquisite coordination of Baggio and Vieri, the Italian team led 1-0 in the first half.Just two minutes into the second half, Chile's angel killer Salas found a good chance to score in front of the goal. The chaotic army fell to the ground and turned around to shoot to equalize the score.Two minutes later, Salas received a pass from Zamorano and scored another goal with a header to overtake the score.The game passed minute by minute, and the Italian team was about to repeat the mistake of losing in the first game of the last World Cup.

In the 84th minute of the game, Baggio dribbled the ball to the right side of the front court, looked up at the striker's position in the penalty area in the middle, and immediately made a pass. Chilean defender Fuendes blocked Baggio with his hand in a hurry. At this time, he was standing in the penalty area, and the Nigerian referee Bouchardo decisively awarded a penalty kick. People saw Baggio walking towards the penalty spot calmly, putting the ball down gently, and took two steps back. , slightly raised his head to glance at the opposing goalkeeper, and then shot to the right with an extremely angled shot, which made the opponent's goalkeeper sigh at the ball. In such a passive situation, Baggio once again saved the Italian team with his personal performance.The Italian fans at the scene once again sang the song praising Baggio and the Italian team during the 1994 World Cup: "Thank you Baggio, the Blues thank Baggio, Baggio saved Italy, the holy Baggio belongs to Italy. Loyal defender... Baggio is an eternal hero in our hearts." After the game, Baggio was recognized as the best player of the Italian team in the game.Baggio showed his true qualities again and made contributions at critical moments. After Baggio scored a penalty, his teammates ran over excitedly to hug him and express their warm congratulations to him. They participated in the last World Cup together, and they can still remember the unforgettable penalty shootout last time. Now they see that Baggio has completely freed himself from the nightmare of the penalty shootout and returned to his hometown. to your peak state.After the game, the Italian media even said: "If there is no Baggio, maybe after the group stage, the Italian team should get through and go home and wait for another four years."