Last update April 27, 2020 by Javier Argudo
It is true that Messi He has surpassed him as the highest historical scorer of the Argentine team, but Gabriel Omar Batistuta still holds a record that neither ‘La Pulga’, ni Kempes not even Diego Armando Maradona has managed to snatch: be the Argentina's top scorer in World Cup history.
Batistuta It was one of the best forwards of his time both at club level and in his national team. He was present at three World Cup events (USA ’94, France '98 Y Korea and Japan '02), writing down the figure of 10 goals in 12 matches. Despite his good performances on a personal level, a Argentina did not fare too well in any of the three, falling in the quarterfinals in the United States and France and not passing the first phase in Korea and Japan.
BATISTUTA MAKES ARGENTINA A CHAMPION
But nevertheless, yes he was successful with his selection in the Copa America, managing to be champion twice, the first one in Chile 1991 and the second in Ecuador in 1993. further, achieved a Confederations Cup in 1992 completing three magical years before his first World Cup experiences. He was top scorer in the Copa América twice (1991 Y 1995) and the Confederations Cup (1992).
The Santa Fe player had a very prolific career in terms of goals in the respective clubs he played, achieving a very round figure (300) in Newell´s, River Plate, Boca Juniors, Fiorentina, Roma, Inter Y Al-Arabi where he ended up hanging his boots. In fact, in the ensemble viola he managed a whopping 207 goals becoming the top scorer in club history.
Regarding their club level titles, Batistuta achievement 1 League with Roma, 1 Cup with Fiorentina and 2 Supercopas (Fiorentina and Rome). In addition to being champion of Argentina with River Plate in 1990. Definitely, a prolific career of a player who is considered one of the 100 best in history.
With all this, draws powerfully the attention that Batistuta He stated on different occasions that he did not like football too much. He did wonderfully well on the field of play, but it was not, much less, a lover of the game but he saw it, rather, like a job.
And if that was not enough, once removed, He had serious problems and pain due to injuries that dragged in his last years as a professional. The suffering was such that, in a moment of despair, he even asked his doctor to amputate his legs. Fortunately, ended up overcoming these problems and, nowadays, makes a totally normal life.
