OGUN, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – A football legend Roberto Baggio has been hospitalised following a robbery attack in his home in Italy.
The intruders locked his family up while they watched last night’s Euro 2024 match between Italy and Spain.
According to Daily Mail Sports, Baggio, 57, was at his home in Altavilla Vicentina, a small town in northern Italy about an hour’s drive from Venice, when a gang of five broke in around 10pm local time on Thursday night.
While Baggio, known as Il Divin Codino (The Divine Ponytail), tried to fight off the attackers, he was hit in the head with the butt of a gun before he and his family were locked in a room.
The robbers stole watches, jewellery, and money from the isolated estate where Baggio and his family have lived for 15 years.
The exact value of the stolen items is not currently known. The robbery reportedly lasted 40 minutes.
After the robbers left, Baggio managed to break his family out of the locked room. He had to go to a hospital in Arzignano, about eight miles from his home, to be treated for his forehead injury, which required stitches.
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While none of his family were physically hurt, they were left terrified by the incident.
Investigating police have been handed CCTV footage to assist in their inquiry.
Speaking to Italian media through his agent Vittorio Petrone, Baggio said, “First of all, my family and I would like to thank everyone for the great love we have received. Thank you very much.”
“In similar circumstances, anything can happen, and fortunately, the violence suffered only generated a few stitches to my person, bruises, and a lot of fear. Now, all that remains is to overcome the fear.”
Petrone told Italian media, “The lightning attack, in full light, did not allow the activation of all the best security systems with which the villa is equipped.
“Now, from what happened, we will further strengthen the daytime detection systems throughout the entire perimeter.
“Only when you are hit do you realize the wounds left by an episode of violence and oppression suffered in your home, together with his family Roberto once again amazed me with the clarity and strength of spirit he expressed immediately following the attack he suffered.
“I am sure that Roberto will once again be the pillar on which his entire family can lean to leave this brutal attack. The investigators are working intensely to bring the culprits to justice.”
Baggio spent his entire 22-year sporting career in Italy, playing for Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and other clubs.
He won two Serie A titles and is considered one of the world’s greatest players.
A 1985 injury led him to convert from Catholicism to Buddhism, although he married his long-time partner Andreina Fabbi in a Catholic ceremony in 1989.
The couple has three children: Valentina, born in 1990; Mattia, born in 1994; and Leonardo, born in 2005.