ROME (AP) -- He still has the haircut of a 24-year-old. One wonders if his younger teammates ever tell him that the buzzed-on-the-sides, ponytail-to-the-neck look is at least a decade out of fashion. But 10 years older himself, and this off-beat elder remains the rave of Italian soccer. Roberto Baggio continues to prove that he is among the game's elite -- possessing an unrivaled mix of imagination and guile that can make it seem like the 22 players on the field are his personal, hand-held video game. So as Italy gets set to host Hungary on Saturday, needing just a draw to clinch a trip to the World Cup, the clamoring question grows louder: Where's Roby? Coach Giovanni Trapattoni has passed over Baggio since taking over the helm of the national team a year ago. Italy will again rely on such offensive stars as Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi when it takes on Hungary in Parma. Power forward Christian Vieri continues to fight a nagging heel injury, and other strikers such as Vincenzo Montella and Marco Delvecchio wait to see what space is available. Still, the question of whether Baggio makes the team seems to have a calculus of its own. The practicing Buddhist, who learned to live with his decisive shootout miss against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup finals, could offer Italy the whiff of destiny. Already veteran Italy midfielder Demetrio Albertini declared that Baggio -- who will turn 35 in February -- deserves a trip to the World Cup. And this week, rising star Totti said the veteran would be an asset. "A player of his caliber, you can take anywhere," Totti was quoted as saying in Friday's La Gazzetta dello Sport. Trapattoni -- who coached Baggio at Juventus in the early 90s -- has never ruled out turning to the veteran if the right moment arrived. When asked most recently about Baggio -- as has become a near weekly ritual -- the coach said: "You add it all up at the end of the season, for everyone, and therefore also Baggio, who remains a player to follow constantly." Baggio, who's also had stints with Fiorentina, AC Milan, Bologna, and Internazionale, now plays for provincial squad Brescia. Last Sunday he notched his seventh-career hat-trick, grabbing a share of the Serie A scoring lead for the first time since March 1994. That year was the peak of his fame, culminated with a memorable World Cup performance -- and the forgettable way it ended. Four years later, Baggio battled with Del Piero for playing time in the World Cup in France. After a Baggio-less Italy came just seconds away from winning the European Championship in 2000, it was hard to argue with coach Dino Zoff's decision to leave him off the roster. Still, there were moments when Baggio's creativity seemed to be just what the defensive-minded team was lacking. Baggio does not hide his desire to finish off his career with a final World Cup appearance. But he doesn't advertise it either. "My only obligation is to give the maximum from the beginning to the end of this season," Baggio said this week. "It's pointless to return to the subject every week, the accounts will be settled when it's over."