All the emotion that there is when Roberto Baggio returns to the field

“Football must be emotion, football can be nostalgia.” Roberto Baggio he puts poetry into thanking those who created the event he attended on Sunday. For his first public outing after the robbery he suffered in his villa, during which he was also physically attacked, he chose a football match between old glories, Operation Nostalgia. «I thank you infinitely for the warmth and affection you showed yesterday during the gathering of @serieaoperazionenostalgia. A special thanks to all the organizers of this beautiful event and in particular to @andreabininostalgia for the dedication and commitment to make these events a reality. Seeing my son play @baggio_leo for a few moments it took me back in time and deeply moved me: football must be emotion, football can be nostalgia. A sincere greeting to all of you present yesterday, your affection, your warmth, your voices have touched my heart, especially after the difficulties of the last period. As Sensei used to say, “the darker the night, the closer the dawn.” I wish you to face life every day with strength and determination!

In the Silvio Piola stadium in Novara, together with the Divin Codino there are many great champions of the past, among them Andriy Shevchenko, Dida, Xavier ZanettiAldair and Antonio Di Natale. All players who in many years of career have been able to earn the respect and affection of the people. But Roberto Baggio is something else. Never like anyone else has he managed to enter the hearts of people (not only those who love and follow football) regardless of the shirt worn.

When he entered the field, accompanied by the notes of a famous song by Cesare Cremonini in which the artist underlines how «since Baggio stops playing it’s no longer Sunday»Roberto was overwhelmed by the affection of the fans.

Five minutes of applause and chants, a demonstration of love that moved Baggio to tears. “God exists and has a ponytail”, one of the most appreciated banners at Piola.

Ballon d’Or in 1993, Roby Baggio wore the shirts of Vicenza, Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan, Bologna, Inter and Brescia. But the one that stuck to him like a second skin was certainly the blue jersey of National with whom he took to the field 56 times, scoring 27 goals.

A few days ago, after the robbery, Roby had said: “It will be your warmth, your affection, your incurable nostalgia that will make the next meeting even more beautiful. I made a promise to all of you and I want to keep it. In life it is important to know how to go beyond pain and difficulties, always looking to the future.. As my teacher Daisaku Ikeda says (remember, Baggio is a Buddhist, ed.): We transform poison into medicine.”