Fiorentina legend Gabriel Batistuta believes Napoli will win the Scudetto this season and explained why Italy is still his home. The former Argentine striker spent the bulk of his playing career in Florence, scoring 203 goals in 331 appearances for La Viola. Speaking to DAZN Argentina, Batistuta recounted his time with Fiorentina and why he thinks Napoli are the most likely to win Serie A:
“Florence was my second home, I arrived there when I was 22 and left when I was 31. With my wife I had three children there, and at one point I had more friends in Florence than in Argentina.
It’s still my home today, I immediately understood the mentality of the Florentines and there was an immediate harmony.
I had a great time, I was so sorry not to give the fans the Scudetto. I put my heart into it, together with my teammates, but we didn’t succeed.
Serie A? In my opinion Napoli will win. I’m rooting for them, because I think they deserve it. They’ve been trying for seven or eight years, they came close but never succeeded. This year I see them more convinced. The lead is important, and I don’t think the others can catch the Azzurri.
Roma? I watch them sometimes. The coach has brought enthusiasm back to the fans. My relationship with Roma is beautiful, we were a great team, and the fans still love me. There was a desire to win, which was very important, and the Lazio victory the year before gave us an extra push and helped us.
I managed to get what I had been looking for for 10 years, I have great memories and I must say that the year we won the Scudetto we were struggling to leave home. The experience was beautiful.
Mihajlovic Gianluca Vialli? I wanted to honour Sinisa and Gianluca, two examples for many generations. Examples of desire, of struggle.
They showed that you can do great things by always behaving well. We were never friends, but I always admired and respected them. I want to embrace their families.
The future? I love Italy, I must confess, I feel at home there. I did the coaching course, but I see myself more as a director and I take the opportunity to make an appeal. I think I’m prepared but I don’t need to take the first thing that comes my way. If a stimulating project comes along, I’ll say yes.
Di Maria and Paredes? They can give a lot now, as they could also have before the break, but injuries happen. Then there is speculation about the World Cup, there are those who say they didn’t give their all to preserve themselves, but injuries happen.
Maradona v Messi? That’s a good question. Those of my generation think that Maradona had something more, but because he was fighting for other things, for the Falklands war, for his charisma. He made a difference because of that.
It’s normal for young people today to be crazy about Messi, he’s been playing at this level for 20 years. At the World Cup it was clear from day one that Argentina would win. Because of the atmosphere around Messi.”
