1990–1995: Juventus Roberto Baggio

— former juventus teammate david platt on baggio, 1995.

in 1990, baggio sold 1 of fiorentina s rivals, juventus, £8 million, world record transfer footballer @ time. inherited number 10 shirt, formerly worn michel platini. following transfer, there riots on streets of florence, 50 people injured. baggio replied fans, saying: compelled accept transfer .

when juventus played fiorentina on 7 april 1991, baggio refused take penalty, stating fiorentina goalkeeper gianmatteo mareggini knew him well. however, luigi de agostini, baggio s replacement, missed penalty , juventus lost match. when baggio substituted, picked fiorentina scarf thrown onto field, gesture which, although appreciated former club s fans, caused outrage amongst juventus supporters, reluctant accept baggio. claimed, deep in heart purple, colour of fiorentina.

in first season @ juventus, baggio scored 14 goals , provided 12 assists in serie a, playing behind forwards under luigi maifredi, although juventus finished in seventh place in serie, outside european qualification spots. however, juventus did reach semi-finals of european cup winners cup year, tournament in baggio top scorer 9 goals, bringing seasonal total 27 goals. juventus eliminated johan cruyff s barcelona dream team . juventus eliminated in quarter-finals of coppa italia eventual winners roma, baggio scoring 3 goals. juventus lost supercoppa italiana against napoli @ beginning of season; baggio scored juventus s goal free-kick. baggio made 100th serie appearance in 0–0 draw against lazio on 21 october 1990.

in second season, under new manager giovanni trapattoni, baggio finished runner-up marco van basten serie top scorer title, scoring 18 goals , providing 8 assists, juventus finished runners-up fabio capello s milan in serie a, , parma in coppa italia final, in baggio scored in first leg penalty. during second season club baggio came accepted juventus fans, seen leader around whom club s play revolved. however, trapattoni deployed baggio in more advanced role, led minor disagreements between player, coach , juventus management.

baggio appointed team captain 1992–93 season. had dominant season, winning european club trophy of career after helping juventus uefa cup final, in scored twice , assisted goal on both legs, defeating borussia dortmund 6–1 on aggregate. en route final, baggio scored 2 goals in 2–1 home victory against paris saint-germain, in first leg of semi-final, , went on score goal in return leg. juventus reached semi-finals of coppa italia, losing on away goals local rivals , winners torino. juventus finished fourth in serie season, although managed 3–1 away win against serie champions milan, baggio scoring memorable individual goal while setting-up andreas möller s first goal of match. 1 of highlights of season involved baggio scoring 4 goals in open play against udinese in 5–0 juventus home win. baggio once again runner-up serie capocannoniere title 21 goals , 6 assists. scored personal best 30 goals in club competitions season, in addition 5 goals italy national team. during 1993 calendar year, baggio managed personal record 39 goals across competitions, scoring 23 goals in serie a, 3 in coppa italia, 8 goals in european competitions , 5 goals italy, helping national side qualify world cup. baggio s performances throughout year earned him both european footballer of year, 142 points possible 150, , fifa world player of year awards. awarded onze d or, , world soccer player of year award.

in 1993–94 season, baggio played second striker alongside gianluca vialli or fabrizio ravanelli, , young alessandro del piero; juventus once again finished runners milan in serie a, , baggio finished third in capocannoniere title 17 goals , 8 assists, while club suffered quarter-final elimination in uefa cup against cagliari. on 31 october 1993, baggio scored hat-trick in 4–0 win on genoa, included 100th serie goal. made 200th serie appearance on 5 december 1993 in 1–0 win on napoli. after sustaining injury earlier season, baggio operated on meniscus in march 1994. baggio placed second in 1994 ballon d or, third in 1994 fifa world player of year, , awarded 1994 onze de bronze.

in 1994–95 season, trapattoni s replacement, marcello lippi, wanted create more cohesive team, less dependent on baggio, deployed outside forward in 4–3–3 formation. baggio injured of season, being ruled out 5 months after sustaining knee injury against padova on 27 november 1994. after scoring free-kick, substituted alessandro del piero, temporarily took place in team. baggio returned starting line-up in first leg of coppa italia semi-final against lazio in rome on 8 march 1995, setting fabrizio ravanelli s winner. on first serie match injury, on 12 march 1995, baggio scored juventus second goal in 2–0 win on foggia, , set ravanelli s goal. due injury, baggio managed 17 serie appearances, still contributed first scudetto juventus contributing 8 goals , 8 assists. provided assists 3 of goals in title-deciding match against parma, juventus won 4–0 in turin on 21 may 1995. helped juventus win coppa italia year, notching 2 goals , 2 assists, scoring winning goal in second leg of semi-final. helped lead juventus uefa cup final scoring 4 goals, including 2 goals , assist on both legs of semi-finals against borussia dortmund. despite baggio s strong performance, juventus defeated in uefa cup final parma.

baggio scored 115 goals in 200 appearances during 5 seasons @ juventus; 78 scored in serie in 141 appearances. in 1995, baggio nominated ballon d or , placed fifth in 1995 fifa world player of year award. awarded 1995 onze d argent award, behind george weah. baggio juventus ninth-highest goalscorer in competitions, , joint tenth-highest goalscorer juventus in serie a, alongside pietro anastasi. sixth-highest juventus goalscorer in coppa italia 14 goals, , joint fourth all-time juventus goalscorer in european , international competitions 22 goals, alongside anastasi. in 2010, named 1 of club s 50 greatest legends.