At the 1994 World Cup, Gabriel Batistuta struck a hat-trick in Argentina's 4-0 rout of Greece. Yet the headlines belonged to Diego Maradona, who scored just once that day. Nine years Batistuta's senior, Maradona failed a doping test at the same tournament, bringing his international career to an abrupt end. Batistuta, meanwhile, went on to become Argentina's all-time leading scorer with 55 goals in 78 matches, a record he held until Lionel Messi overtook him in 2016. Weighing up the two legends, Batistuta pointed out that Messi has scored close to a thousand goals in his career, while Maradona managed only around two hundred. Still, he stressed that the iconic number ten carried a different kind of charisma on the pitch, along with a unique ability to handle referees.
Now 57, the former striker makes no secret of his regret over Maradona, who died of a heart attack in 2020 at the age of 60, and admits that both the football world and the people closest to the legend did not do enough to save him. "He died completely alone, like a dog, and we failed to protect him," Batistuta said, reflecting on the tragic end to the life of his former teammate and friend.
