Thursday, April 25, 2002
Chievo president Luca Campedelli admits he would love Brescia's Roberto Baggio to lead his club in next year's Champions League - if the minnows from Verona finish fourth in Serie A this term, Corriere dello Sport reported Wednesday. Baggio, 35, is very much the man of the moment in Italy. His return ahead of schedule from injury on Sunday saw him score two goals against Fiorentina in a 20-minute substitute appearance and it seems everyone in Italy - except national team coach Giovanni Trapattoni - wants him to go to the World Cup. With Brescia still fighting against relegation and Chievo not yet certain of fourth place Campedelli said he would bide his time before moving for Baggio but said: "We need to wait although maybe just for a week - then we will make an evaluation. "Let's leave the door open, in football no possibility is excluded, never say never." Campedelli heaped superlatives on Baggio who has already been compared to Diego Maradona, Buddha and Nelson Mandela this week by various observers. The Anglophile, a shareholder in Manchester United, Celtic and Sunderland who also claims to follow the fortunes of Leyton Orient and Preston North End, said that Baggio had the same kudos with his team-mates as late Scotland skipper Billy Bremner did with Leeds or Nobby Stiles did with Manchester United. "Someone like Baggio should be preserved by Unicef, the WWF or Unesco," said Campedelli. "Like an artistic heritage." (c)Daily Soccer