Nicknamed Batigol, When he was still playing, a younger and
better Hernan Crespo was still nothing to Argentina. That was how
good he was for them. It was only after he retired that Crespo got
his chance.
He is the all-time highest scorer for Argentina's national team,
with 56 goals in 78 national team matches
When his club Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993,
Batistuta stayed with the club and helped it return to the
top-flight league two years later. A hero in Florence, the
Fiorentina fans erected a life-size bronze statue of him in 1996,
in recognition of his performances for Fiorentina.
He never won the Italian league with Fiorentina, but when he moved
to AS Roma in 2000 in a deal worth 35 million US dollars. he
finally won the Serie A championship to crown his career in
Italy.
In spite of a knee injury that kept him out for a few matches, he
scored 20 goals for A.S. Roma in his first season with the club,
and finally realized his dream of winning a major trophy as Roma
clinched the Scudetto for the first time since 1983.
Gabriel batistuta retired in 2005.
