A lone man carries the match ball onto the pitch, striding gracefully to raucous applause. The Divine Ponytail himself might not be playing in the game to follow but the former world player of the year, Roberto Baggio, drew the greatest applause of all at BMO Field in Toronto for the match between the living legends of Italy and Portugal.
To some, this is simply a glorified scrimmage. Those who believe that were most likely not in attendance Monday evening – to those who were present, it certainly did invoke nostalgia of better times, when these proud footballing nations did not exit the World Cup in the group stage with a whimper.
Baggio, though he did not step onto the pitch as a player was the main attraction by far and the figurehead of the event. He told members of the media that he “picked up an injury last Wednesday” while training for the game. It has been a decade since he last played competitively after all.
“What of the rumours of you coaching the Italian national team?” a reporter asks. “Just rumours” he responds with a smirk. “It is important that we change the head of the Federation first, then we will see [results]”. Presently the FIGC is without a President following the resignation of Abete following Italy’s abysmal performance in Brazil.
Who does he favour to win Serie A this upcoming season?
“Juventus are always the favourite… and are ready once again. After three years, they have the mentality…”
Franco Baresi made a brief cameo closing down attackers for the opening 20 minutes, he of course possessing an incredible legacy marshalling a Milan defence to European supremacy and Italy to two World Cup Finals (one a victory in 1982, the other defeat in 1994) and a third place finish (1990). He believes that “it is important to give emotion to the people” when asked why make a second trip to Toronto in a month after appearing but not taking part in the Milan-Benfica Legends match.
In his opinion the Scudetto race belongs to Roma as they possess the “important qualities [to win], and in the Champions League they will be strong… they are the closest [as frontrunners].”
This match indeed serves a purpose: to respect the past, to attach faces to names for those too young to recall the days that the heroes of a generation past created memories to last a lifetime.
The man of the match award has to go to Paolo Di Canio. It is hard not to imagine his tenacity which he was revered for as a player; he approached this match as if it were any match in his career, stalking about the pitch like a wasp flashing its stinger and in turn stealing the spotlight. The two sides of Di Canio were on hand for all to see – the splendid method in which he glides around defenders is quite simply remarkable for any man, all the more incredible at his age. Yet in a friendly like this, frankly, it’s rare to see a player confront the official as he has done on multiple occasions – whether intentional or simply horseplay, it got the crowd feverish. Truly a mad genius, and forever will be.
The other source of excitement is named Pauletta; playing a role all too familiar as a lone striker pressuring the Italian defence, he prowled, prepared to pounce at a moment’s notice. Throughout the first half he saw little of the ball save for several through balls that ventured too close to the Italian keeper; Simone Perrotta did well to close him down in a stopper role. Yet despite this he managed to slip into fantastic scoring opportunities, coming close with a header in the 38th minute.
It is indeed a lovely, familiar feeling seeing the heroes of both nations in Toronto remind us just why it is we fell in love with football.
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