Milan vs Fiorentina Throwback: Batistuta’s Shout “Te Amo, Irina!”

By the mid-1990s Fiorentina fans and, more in general, all calcio followers had learned to know Gabriel Omar Batistuta. The Argentine was the perfect prototype of a modern football striker.

Batistuta had everything: Speed, skills, technique, power, grit, passion, and charisma. You name it. Plus, so big was his love for the Viola colors that he had accepted to remain in Florence despite Fiorentina’s disgraceful relegation to Serie B in 1993. Needless to say, he had promptly helped them to regain access to the top-flight.

And still, there was one side of Batistuta, perhaps the most unexpected, that the mainstream public had not experienced yet: The Romantic one.

On August 25, 1996, Batistuta shouted to the whole world his love for the Woman of His Life with a celebration that remained in the history of Serie A. Fiorentina were taking on Milan in the Italian Supercup and Batistuta celebrated his late winner – a stunning free kick that left no chance to Sebastiano Rossi – by running towards a TV camera and shouting with all the love in the world, his spirited eyes wide open:

“Te amo Irina!!!”

Well, he really meant it. Twenty-five years after that touching dedication, Gabriel and Irina still happily live together and their love became the mark of the only Supercoppa won by Fiorentina, right in the day of their 70^th birthday.

El Calcio no descansa en las fiestas, el sábado a las 11, Fiorentina juega contra el Milan en Giuseppe Meazza. En ese estadio, hace 22 años, Batistuta clavaba doblete y dejaba para siempre en el recuerdo el "TE AMO IRINA": pic.twitter.com/wIp6YPsnnQ

— Fiorentina Argentina (@FiorentinArg) December 20, 2018

Paired against a steamrollering Milan side – who came from four Italian titles in the previous five seasons – Fiorentina were the obvious underdog in the Supercoppa. But the Rossoneri, despite still boasting players the likes of Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Dejan Savicevic, Zvonimir Boban, and George Weah – just to name a few – were at the end of a cycle. Only, they didn’t know that yet.

Coach Fabio Capello – the architect of their winning cycle – had left Milanello for a prestigious job at Real Madrid and President Silvio Berlusconi had put Oscar Washington Tabarez at the helm. But the Maestro from Uruguay would end up lasting only 10 games in charge as he was axed after a bad league start and a 2-3 loss to Piacenza powered by an unforgettable Pasquale Luiso overhead kick.

In retrospect, Milan’s loss to Fiorentina in the Supercup should have raised a red flag.

The Viola, however, also meant business. Coached by 45-year-old Claudio Ranieri since three seasons, they had conquered the Coppa Italia a few months earlier and had a more than respectable roster.

Goalkeeper Francesco Toldo was the pillar of the defense and a regular call-up to the Azzurri. In midfield, they had players like Portuguese maestro Rui Costa and solid Sweden international Stefan Schwarz. The front-line featured Belgian veteran Lulu Oliveira and battle-scarred Italian strikers Francesco Ciccio Baiano and Anselmo Spadino (“Little Sword”) Robbiati.

And then, of course, there was him. Gabriel Omar Batistuta from Reconquista. A simply immense player and a true Viola legend despite his late career “treason” that brought him to Roma to win a Scudetto and then to Inter.

Batistuta set Fiorentina off to a good start in the 1996-97 campaign leading them to the Supercoppa triumph. The Viola season wouldn’t continue as they expected as they ended a disappointing 9^th in the table. They did, however, reach the Semi Finals of the Cup Winners Cup, only succumbing to a Barcelona side enlightened by the star of the young Fenomeno Ronaldo Nazario Da Lima – who had to fight very hard to do better than Gabriel Batistuta’s heroics over the two legs.

The night of the Supercoppa game with Milan, the Argentine absolutely stole the stage. On 11 minutes, Batistuta caught a cross from Sandro Cois and squeezed through a defensive duo who looked like an honor guard – Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi. Batistuta dematerialized the ball from Baresi’s view with a soft lob, before recovering it and whipping it past Sebastiano Rossi.

The way the Argentine bested Milan’s legendary libero should have sounded like another sinister omen of the season to come as Baresi’s final year with the Rossoneri would be well below his average.

Fiorentina’s lead lasted only 10 minutes, however, as the Genius Dejan Savicevic replied with an equally stunning feat, a razor-sharp shot from the edge of the box that hit the post and rolled into the back of the net to equalize for Milan.

But Batistuta was not done yet. On the contrary, the best was yet to come. With seven minutes to go, he stepped up to the free kick spot to convert a set piece that he himself had gained for being fouled by Marcel Desailly.  

We guess you know what came next. Despite being more than 20 meters far from the goal, Batistuta’s right foot conclusion leapt over the wall set up by Rossi and ended its run into the bottom right corner of the goal as the shot-stopper vainly scrambled to reach it. But, as the Supercoppa took the way to Florence, what remained set in the Serie A collective memory was Batigol’s subsequent celebration: A wild run, his mouth and eyes wide open, and his passionate dedication to the woman he loved.

“I love you, Irina!”

And for one night, maybe for one night only, we all loved Gabriel Batistuta even more – regardless of whether we were supporting Fiorentina.

 

MATCH SCORECARD

August 25, 1996 – Supecoppa Italiana 1996
MILAN – FIORENTINA 1-2

SCORERS: 12′ Batistuta (F), 22′ Savicevic (M), 83′ Batistuta (F)

REFEREE: Mr. Treossi from Forlì
NOTES: Yellow cards: Rossi (M), Firicano, Falcone, Schwarz, Oliveira (F)