July 17, 1994, is a date that will live forever in Brazil’s memory, as the country celebrated its fourth World Cup that day. For Italy, however, it’s a date they prefer to forget.
Franco Baresi, captain of that Azzurri team, still has “nightmares” about that final, especially when it comes to the penalty he missed in the first shot of the shootout.
READ MORE
++ How Ayrton Senna inspired the Brazilian national team to win the 1994 World Cup
++ 1994 World Cup champion Branco celebrates his 60th birthday
++ The conquest of Brazil’s 4th World Cup title completes 30 years this Wednesday
“There was emotion, tension, so many mixed feelings, and I, unfortunately, missed that penalty. To this day, I wonder what I did to kick the ball so high,” he told Globo Esporte 30 years after the match.
Four years earlier, the defender, who was then considered the best in the world, had scored his penalty in the shootout against Argentina in the 1990 World Cup, although Italy ended up losing at home.
This time, it went way off target: “Of course, you can prepare as much as you want, but the penalty is in the moment. Everything changes! When you go there and put the ball on the spot, you look at the goal, and it shrinks. The goalkeeper always looks like a giant. You think about shooting to one side, then you change your mind. That’s what happened to me.”
Explaining his decision-making process, he recalled: “I was watching Taffarel’s movements a bit and thought about shooting to his left. It was then that I changed my mind during the run-up, and that’s why my body movement caused the shot to go very high. It happens! You can train a lot; great shooters have also missed.”
Márcio Santos also missed Brazil’s first penalty, but goals from Romário, Branco, and Dunga tipped the balance since Daniele Massaro and Roberto Baggio missed for Italy.
