From the broken-legged boy to the Golden Ball, the football poet who was repeatedly beaten by fate, the melancholy prince!

Baggio: The football epic behind a penalty kick, the melancholy legend written with scars

One shot and one back, which made the conclusion of the man's life.

Heroes become sinners, and they dare not write the script like this.

But this is just the A side of the story. The real plot is how a boy named Baggio uses a scarred leg to fight the expectations of the whole world.

Italy, a country rich in steel defenders, unexpectedly produced a football artist.

This guy debuted at the age of 9 and scored 65 goals in 26 games at the age of 11, which directly caused the entire Italian scout circle to start a human search: Who is this child?

He is Baggio.

When he played football, the time seemed to be 0.5 times faster - he was promoted to the first team at the age of 15 and defeated all sides in the League C. His first goal in his career came from a penalty kick. The boy would not have thought that the place where this dream began would become a nightmare for his life in the future.

Picture: 15-year-old Baggio made a debut in the League C, young but full of sharpness

18, just two days before he was about to sign with the giant Florence, a hardcore dismantle came to his knee: both the ACL and meniscus were scrapped, and the doctors advised him to consider changing careers.

The finale is about to begin before the career starts. Who can stand it?

But the Florence boss is also a ruthless person and said directly: "I want the person, I will pay for the surgery."

This kind of kindness also planted the seeds for the earth-shaking fan riot in the future.

Finally recovered from the injury, but not long after, another stab in the knee was cut, and a total of 220 needles were sewn. The fans were almost exhausted and they all thought the club had bought a can of a patient medicine.

It was not until he faced Naples led by Maradona and successfully relegated to the team with a shocking free kick - from that moment on, the era of Baggio really began.

Photo: Baggio kicked a key free kick against Napoli, saving the team Yushui

He became Fiorentina's darling and led the team to the UEFA Cup final, and his opponent happened to be his arch-rival Juventus. After losing in the final, even more explosive news came: Baggio was sold to Juventus by the club at a world record price.

Fiorentine fans completely broke the defense and went to the streets to carry out "offline team building". Bricks and iron chains flew everywhere. The chairman was so scared that he locked himself in the stadium and became a "tower defense champion."

Baggio later clarified that he was forced to transfer, but no one believed it.

When he returned to Florence in a black and white shirt, he was greeted by booing. In the

game, Juventus received a penalty kick, but as the number one penalty kicker, he refused to take the penalty; when he was replaced, he picked up the purple scarf thrown by the fans - this wave of operations instantly won back the hearts of the Purple Lily fans, but also filled the blood pressure of the Juventus fans.

Photo: Baggio picked up a purple scarf at home in Fiorentina, with complex and affectionate eyes at Juventus, he spoke with his strength: he led the team to win the Europa League, and he was crowned the Golden Ball Award, becoming the world's number one.

In the 1994 World Cup, he almost scored 5 goals in the knockout round like a cheat, dragging the Italian team to the finals. The hamstring was strained in the semi-finals, and the finals were closed. The final against Brazil was 0-0 in 120 minutes, and the game dragged into a cruel penalty shootout. After the teammates lost their penalty, all the pressure came to Baggio - Italy still has a glimmer of hope for punishment; if the penalty is lost, everything is over.

The whole world's eyes were focused on him. Then he kicked the ball into the sky.

The Brazilian celebrated wildly, and he stood there for 8 minutes, and that lonely back became an eternal picture in the hearts of the whole world. People called him "the dead man standing."

Picture: After the 1994 World Cup final, Baggio's lonely back stood in front of the penalty spot. What's ridiculous is that everyone only remembers that he lost this penalty, but forgot:

He is the best scorer in the Italian team's history World Cup, and the only Italian to score goals in three World Cups. His penalty shooting percentage is as high as 85%, even surpassing the penalty kick that changed his life. It was the only time he missed in a penalty shootout in his career.

Some greatness is destined to bloom on scars; and Baggio's melancholy may be the most beautiful poem in football.

✨ Thinking today:

When fate uses pain and misunderstanding to polish a genius, is it despair or nirvana? Baggio gave the answer in his life - How do you understand his "melancholy legend"? Let’s talk about your thoughts in the comment section.