Following the World Cup 94, i was now hooked on football and was determined to find out as much as possible about it as i could, especially Italian. This was way before the Internet started appearing in our homes so the only way to find out more about it was through magazines or one of the four channels we had back then, so skimming through the 'Radio Times' for TV listings i found a magazine show - 10am every Saturday morning - 'Gazzetta Football Italia'.
Watching highlights of some of the greatest players in the world at that time, Gabriel Batistuta, Abel Balbo, Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Zvonimir Boban just to name a few, but there was one player i came to see, of course Roberto Baggio.
This is when i first came across the black and white stripes of Juventus, i had no idea how good they were or who any of the players were at that time, but Baggio played for them so they were MY team from now on.
One of the first live Juventus matches i ever saw (Football Italia showed live matches on a Sunday afternoon) was a classic. Juve were at home and losing 2-0 thanks to two first half goals until a surge in the last 20 minutes saw them come out 3-2 winners, 'The Bald Bomber' Gianluca Vialli scored a Bullet header then latched onto a botched clearance to poke home an equalizer, then in the 89th minute i saw what i still believe is the best goal i have seen live and a possible new footballing hero emerge. Alessandro Del Piero.
Juventus went on to win their 23rd league title that season which was dedicated to Andrea Fortunato, an extremely promising left back who unfortunately died of Pneumonia after battling Leukemia for a year.
Roberto Baggio left Juventus that summer and moved to Milan, but it didn't matter now, i had found the team i liked and still support them to this day. They went on to win the Champions League the season after with a penalty shootout against Ajax and i had my first taste of my team winning things. It sure wouldn't be the last....
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