# @retro_calcio on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DZzObsTEeu3
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/69875696-retro-calcio-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/8b16c8a0f8.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-06-20T08:06:56.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Retro Calcio (@retro_calcio) — https://gondola.cc/retro_calcio

## Caption

France 98: The Brilliant, Cursed Elegance of the Azzurri
If you look strictly at the numbers, Italy’s run at France 98 was near flawless. Cesare Maldini’s side went completely undefeated in normal time across 5 matches, racking up 3 wins, 2 draws, 8 goals scored, and only 3 conceded. They boasted a terrifyingly physical, peak-era Christian Vieri scoring 5 goals in 5 games, backed by the emerging defensive brick wall of Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta.
Yet, France 98 will always be remembered as a tournament of agonizing "what ifs" and tactical compromise.
This was the summer of the infamous Staffetta—the relentless, exhausting national debate that forced a choice between the golden boy Alessandro Del Piero and the legendary Roberto Baggio. Instead of finding a way to let both geniuses coexist in a golden era of Calcio, they were swapped in and out, leaving fans wondering what a fully unleashed creative partnership could have achieved.
But football is nothing without its human stories, and Baggio provided the ultimate redemption arc.
Four years after the heartbreak of Pasadena, Il Divin Codino stepped up in the opening match against Chile to bury an 85th-minute penalty, exorcising his ghosts & completing a redemption arc that transcends football.  He even stood tall in the quarter-final shootout against the hosts at the Stade de France, calmly converting his spot-kick. Additionally, just missing a shot that wisped the post
But Italy’s historical curse could not be undone. When Luigi Di Biagio’s final penalty rattled off the crossbar, it sealed a cruel hat-trick: three consecutive World Cups ended by the lottery of a penalty shootout.
It was a squad dripping in Serie A gold, wearing some of the most beautifully minimalist kits of the decade, sent home by the thinnest of margins without ever being beaten on the pitch.
How do you remember France 98? Should Cesare Maldini have started Baggio and Del Piero together, or was the defense-first approach bound to break?
Hit the save button to keep this iconic era of Italian football in your collection, and share it with a friend who still misses 90s Calcio.
#Azzurri #RobertoBaggio #calcioitaliano #staffetta #france98

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 1,116
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 25

## Tags

france98, robertobaggio, calcioitaliano, azzurri, staffetta

---
Copyright (c) Gondola