Sports Nicknames - Batigol, El Angel Gabriel

Gabriel Omar Batistuta was one of the best goal scorers in the 1990s and one of the fan-favorite players overall.



Nicknamed "Batigol" and "El Angel Gabriel", Batistuta was the best Argentinian player in the period between Diego Maradona and Leo Messi. "Batigol" was the all-time leader in scored goals for Argentina before Messi broke his record in 2016.

Batistuta is the only football player to have scored a hat-trick in two separate FIFA World Cups and he shares the eighth place among the best scorers in the history of the biggest football tournament.

Batistuta won one Serie A trophy with Roma, but he made a name for himself while playing for Fiorentina. He spent nine seasons with the Violets and became a big enough legend that in 1996 the Fiorentina fans built a life-size bronze statue of him.

"En Angel Gabriel" played a total of 77 games for Argentina, scoring 54 goals along the way. Only Lionel Messi has scored more for the South American nation.

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