Yeah it was the miss of the best Azzurri player of the World Cup, yes it put the title directly into the hands of Brazil etc. etc. blah blah. What everyone seems to forget is that at that point, Italy were already 1 goal down due to the misses of Baresi and Massaro (reduced by the miss of Marcio Santos). Even if Baggio had scored his P.K., Pagliuca would have had to save the shot from the 5th Brazil spot-taker. Easier said than done.

So in my eyes, anyone tying Baggio’s career to that penalty miss is just a big ignorant ass. Baggio was a true legend, one of the best Italian players that ever lived and probably one of the most loved. If Italy made the USA 94 final they owe in large part to Baggio, he litterally carried his team through to the playoffs. 2 goals in the final minutes against Nigeria, the match-winning-goal in the 87th vs. Spain, the two goals vs. Bulgaria in the semis… I mean should I go on?

It was a commercial he called “Wind” in the book. They replayed the penalty kick, he made it, and he and Sacchi embraced. He said it was a genuine reconciliation between the two.

From the Guardian article that I referenced above:

“We saw each other in Como, not long ago, to film a commercial where the penalty at Pasadena went in and we won the World Cup. And the hug between me and Sacchi and me was very real. During the shoot, every time we had a break, all he did was talk to me and try to explain. We were sitting on two footballs and replayed the World Cup final. And this time we won it.”