On This Day at the World Cup – June 21: Gabriel Batistuta Day

This should really be known as Gabriel Batistuta Day.

On June 21 1994 he scored a hat-trick in Argentina’s win over Greece and on that very date four years later helped himself to another treble as they hammered Jamaica in France.

Heading into this summer’s tournament in USA, Mexico and Canada, no other player had scored hat-tricks at two World Cups. Three players – Sandor Kocsis, Just Fontaine and Gerd Muller – scored two hat-tricks at a single edition.

All through the 1990s Batistuta was banging them in for Fiorentina, scoring more than 200 goals in the famous purple shirt, before moving to Roma and getting his hands on the Scudetto.

At one time there was a statue of him in Florence but it was damaged and removed after his controversial transfer to the capital in 2000. Yet it is still possible to get a feel for what it was like during Batistuta’s time in Florence.

Work has started to renovate the stadium but much about the Artemio Franchi screams of that era. It is shaped more like a letter D than a bowl and like many grounds in Italy is wide and mostly uncovered.

Florence is an excellent destination for a calcio weekend. The city is always busy with tourists but is easy to navigate and there are plenty of options for food and drink close enough to the stadium. Our city guide and club page has all the information you will need.

And one more thing on the great Batistuta… did you know he once lined up against Southend?