Retired :(

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Italian legend Baggio retires

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian striker Roberto Baggio has retired after undergoing a knee operation on Monday for a serious injury he sustained last week, his agent has revealed.

Baggio: It's over
(GraziaNeri/Allsport)
The 34-year-old Brescia player was pushing for a place in the Italian squad at this summer's World Cup after a good start to the season but the reconstruction surgery looks to have sidelined him for at least five months.

Baggio's agent Vittorio Petrone was quoted on the BBC website as saying: 'We were hoping for a different outcome right from the beginning of the medical tests but now Roberto wants to quit football. He wants to change his lifestyle.'

'We will try to change his mind. Personally, I have one more dream - to see him return to the football field,' he added.

'Even if he has missed his chance with the World Cup, he deserves to return to playing.'

Baggio was stretchered off with an injured left knee after coming on as a substitute during Brescia's Italian Cup semifinal match at Parma on Thursday.

It was only his second game back after three months out with an injury to the same knee.

Baggio played in the last three World Cups, making his mark on the 1990 tournament in Italy with a fine individual strike against Czechoslovakia before leading the Azzurri to third place.

[FANTA]

he's not retiring.

BOLOGNA, Italy, Feb 7 (AFP) - Brescia striker Roberto Baggio, whose latest knee injury has ruled him out for the rest of the season, has vowed to return to action as quick as possible, the Italian media reported Thursday.

Baggio made the vow in a phone call with former Juventus legend Giampiero Boniperti, who is now the Turin club's honorary president.

Boniperti, like Baggio, had scored 178 Serie A goals and teased Baggio with the remark that he should have surpassed him with a 179th goal before getting injured.

Baggio replied: "Don't you worry, I will be back playing as soon as possible and I will beat your number of goals."

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but will he miss his ultimate aim of playing in Japan....cos Germany 2006 looks out of the question

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Better news



Roberto Baggio has announced that he won’t be quitting football after fears that his latest injury setback had put an end to his career.

The Brescia star was ruled out for the rest of the season on Monday. But despite his World Cup dreams being shattered, the former Juventus ace has pledged to return.

"I’ll be back on the field again that is for sure," he said on Thursday. "But for the time being the most important thing for me is that I’m OK physically. Then we will just have to wait and see what happens in the future."

Baggio, 35, was released from the Bologna clinic this morning after he underwent knee surgery earlier this week following ligament damage sustained during the Coppa Italia defeat against Parma.

Baggio’s agent Vittorio Petrone added: "Roberto is feeling good about himself now and he hasn’t been thinking too much about the fact that he is out of the World Cup.

"He’s calm about the rehabilitation process and is keen to get started. He’s still in some pain but what will be, will be. He knows that the future is in his own hands."

Early indications suggest that Baggio could be fit enough to be back in action by May 10 – five days after the Serie A season ends.

[Moggelito10]

im sure of that will be back..soon enough to the WC,...Love that Guy :)

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Originally posted by Moggelito10
im sure of that will be back..soon enough to the WC,...Love that Guy :)

I think everyone does

[heidi]

Not soon enough for the WC,it would need a miracle. Trap already said he`s not going to take him to Japan. Or Hubner what so ever.

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age......:fed-up: :mad: :depressed .....Its feels kinda sad that the story ends this way......i really believed he was gonna go...and do his stuff...and probably win the wc.....
:depressed