Former Italy sensation Roberto Baggio had to be given stitches after being struck with the barrel of a gun in an armed home invasion
Roberto Baggio pictured in 2022(Image credit: Getty Images)
Former Italy superstar Roberto Baggio had to go to hospital after being robbed at gunpoint in his own home while watching his country's Euro 2024 clash with Spain on television.
The Associated Press report that Baggio's villa near Vicenza was entered by at least five gun-wielding intruders around 10pm on Thursday night, striking the former AC Milan and Juventus forward in the head with the butt of a gun when he attempted to confront them.
Baggio and his family were then locked in a room while the intruders stole valuables including cash, watches and jewellery. After breaking down the door following the the robbers' departure, 57-year-old Baggio later required stitches for his wound, but his family were thankfully unharmed.
Roberto Baggio receives stitches for head wound after armed home invasion
Baggio enjoyed a glittering but injury-hit career, turning out for seven different Italian clubs over a 22-year career: Vicenza, Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan, Bologna, Inter and Brescia.
An extremely skilful and clinical number 10, Baggio came to global attention for his superb performances at the 1990 World Cup, which precipitated a move to Juve for a then-world record £8m transfer fee later that summer that caused riots on the streets of Florence.
Baggio shone again for Italy at the 1994 World Cup but missed the decisive penalty in the final against Brazil, later coming second in the running for that year's Ballon d'Or.
Roberto Baggio joined Juventus for a world record transfer fee in 1990 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Once nicknamed 'The Divine Ponytail' for his distinctive longer hairstyle – shorn off in his later playing days – Baggio consistently features in the list of the greatest players of the 20th century and of all time and was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
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He ended his career in 2004 having made 56 appearances for Italy, scoring 27 goals, on top of 218 goals in 488 league games at club level.
Netflix produced an Italian-language dramatisation of Baggio's playing career in 2021.
Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.
