Turin, 14 May (LaPresse) – ‘For me, there was nothing but the ball. I remember eating at the table with the ball and my dad telling me off, but I was afraid someone would steal it from me. It was an obsession.’ Roberto Baggio said this whilst speaking at the Turin Book Fair during the launch of his book “Luce nell’oscurità” (Light in the Darkness). ‘I wanted to play football 24 hours a day; even going to sleep felt like a waste of time. I enjoyed it; it was something I couldn’t do without,’ he admitted. ‘Even at home in the hallway with a tennis ball, it was a way to play. I couldn’t sit still.’ ‘Given that I’d hurt myself badly every day I trained and played, I’d tell myself, ‘You’ve been lucky again today’, so I fed off that,’ he concluded. ‘Injuries and suffering help you grow. I knew, ‘I’m playing today, but what about tomorrow?’ That thought stayed with me throughout my career; every day was a gift.’
Baggio: ‘Football was like an obsession for me; I wanted to play 24 hours a day’
Turin, 14 May (LaPresse) – ‘For me, there was nothing but the ball. I remember eating at the table with the ball and my dad telling me off, but I was afraid someone would steal it from me. It was an obsession.’ Roberto Baggio said this whilst speaking at the Turin Book Fair during the launch of his book “Luce nell’oscurità” (Light in the Darkness). ‘I wanted to play football 24 hours a day; even going to sleep felt like a waste of time. I enjoyed it; it was something I couldn’t do without,’ he admitted. ‘Even at home in the hallway with a tennis ball, it was a way to play. I couldn’t sit still.’ ‘Given that I’d hurt myself badly every day I trained and played, I’d tell myself, ‘You’ve been lucky again today’, so I fed off that,’ he concluded. ‘Injuries and suffering help you grow. I knew, ‘I’m playing today, but what about tomorrow?’ That thought stayed with me throughout my career; every day was a gift.’
