Dino Baggio, the former midfielder who played for clubs including Torino, Inter, Juventus, Parma, and Lazio, and was a World Cup finalist with Italy at USA `94, was recently interviewed on Radio-Tv Serie A with RDS.
On the Operazione Nostalgia Reunion on June 8th at the Tardini Stadium
“Given my physical condition, with issues in my back, knee, and ankle, I`m quite a wreck. It`s better if I don`t train at all; then when I get there, I`ll just play immediately and we`ll keep going as long as we can. I`ll position myself in the center circle and not move from there. We often meet up with the former Parma players; we get together about once a month with those still around. It will be nice to see players I haven`t seen in many years like Zola, Asprilla, Veron, teammates with whom we made history at Parma. I`m not sure if I`ll recognize them all… (laughs).”
On the Parma Team of the 1990s
“That Parma side was extraordinary, a team built in 1987/88, reinforced every year with increasingly strong players, and it kept winning until 2000. It was a Parma team that won almost everything; the only regret is never winning a Scudetto. We deserved it after 15 years at a high level. Today, we have a WhatsApp group for our Parma team, but I`m not very active. Ciccio Melli is the most active; he tells jokes and sings, then there are Gigi Apolloni and many others. I play footgolf with Marco Osio.”
On the Comparison with McTominay
“McTominay is a great player, and he might resemble me because he is physically strong and knows how to score goals. However, I also had the defensive aspect and could even play as a defender. He has characteristics more specific to midfield and forward.”
On His Two Goals Scored at USA `94
“The goal against Spain was special because I hit it with the outside of my foot. Zubizarreta dove but couldn`t reach it; it was a shot from 28 meters – it was the most beautiful goal. However, the one against Norway was even more important because if we hadn`t won that match, we wouldn`t have qualified for the knockout stage. It was a very tough game played with 10 men and at times 9 under infernal heat. I also remember in Boston against Spain, there was so much humidity that we were all soaked.”
On Sharing a Surname with Roberto Baggio
“I handled it well because we had two completely different roles and different qualities. When [commentator] Pizzul called us Dino and Roberto, many people thought we were brothers, but I was happy about that. I had the same surname as a player who won the Ballon d`Or.”
On Parma Today
“I don`t follow football much anymore, but I look at the results, and I`m sad to see Parma in their current position. It won`t be easy now given their schedule. I hope they manage to stay up because it`s a club and city that deserves Serie A.”