I think, he was under-hyped. Go figure. Maybe you don’t recall, but I remember him leading them against Nigeria, Chile, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria (off the top of my head)- by himself. In 1994, he was injured and still left his mark. Had he played in 1998 as a starter, it’s not crazy to think they would have gone deeper.

Well, Maradona was great in patches too. So was Zidane and other great players. Baggio was pretty darn consistent if you ask me.

But again, I agree about the 90-94 teams. Although in 1994 the defense was fabulous in the final.

Thanks for the debate!

Charismatic looks and a flying ponytail, he was a cult figure, no doubt about that. But a tad over hyped as well. And I think Baggio didn’t get as many endorsements as Beckham

After watching the Italian team of 1990, the 1994 team disappointed me immensely. But yeah, Baggio lacked support from his team mates during that World cup and one more Baggio would have definitely steam rolled Brazil in the finals.

My two cents. Just the difference of opinions. Thanks.

BUT.

Sorry, dude. I don’t know how old you are but Baggio is NOT Beckham. To even compare the two is absurd. He was charismatic but he was not a run away marketing machine and nor was he a one-dimensional player.

Baggio’s talent is WITHOUT DOUBT sublime. He easily ranks in a top 15/20 players of ALL-TIME. I’ve even seen some lists where he was in the top 10 and I’m cool with that.

In 1990, he was a kid and even then when he played he sparkled. Donadoni was a solid attacking mid but no where in Baggio’s class same with Vialli. Schilacci was not a starter. Albertini was a different cat altogether. All solid players but none are Baggio. None.

So to point that is a little unfair.

However, I will agree with you on one point, the 1990, which finished 3rd at the WC, was an outstanding team. Fluid, solid defense, stylish mids and clinical strikers. They would have crushed Germany in the final had the hung on against Argentina.

Soccer fans who have followed Italian team closely since last 20-30 years can easily say that their lineup for Italia 90 was the most formidable Italian team ever that was way different in their approach. Baggio wasn’t even a part of that team. They had Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Walter Zenga, Roberto Donadoni, Salvador Schilachi, Gialluca Vialli, Albertini, et. al. Those were the men, who had a blend of style, aggression and solid defence. Italian soccer at its best, way better than 1982 Rossi’s and 2006 Cannavaro’s teams.