The Hindu : Sport / Football : Batistuta calls it a day

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Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005

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Batistuta calls it a day

BUENOS AIRES, MARCH 14. Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina's all-time scoring leader and a former Fiorentina and AS Roma star, announced that he was retiring from soccer.

``I'm retiring for good,'' the 36-year-old striker said on Sunday in a statement released from Doha, Qatar, where he has played the last year-and-a-half for Qatari club Al-Arabi.

Plagued by knee injuries, he announced he was ending his contract prematurely with Al-Arabi, where he moved in 2003 after playing briefly with Inter Milan.

Batistuta, who retired from Argentina's national team three years ago, is the squad's leading scorer with 56 goals in 77 games, and played on the country's 1994, 1998, and 2002 World Cup teams.

He also led Argentina to Copa America titles in 1991 and 1993. ``Gabriel has lost his enthusiasm for the sport,'' his agent, Settimio Aloisio told the Argentine news agency Noticias Argentinas. ``He thought it was better he left the game now, before it left him,'' he said.

Batistuta debuted in 1988 in Argentina's first division with Newell's Old Boys, joining River Plate a year later before starring at Boca Juniors in 1990, where he quickly caught the attention of European clubs.

In 1991, he signed with Italy's Fiorentina, becoming the club's idol, and leading the team to the Copa Italy and Supercup in 1995 and 1996.

He moved to AS Roma in 2000, helping the team win the league championship in his first season. In 2003, he played briefly at Inter Milan before deciding to wind down his career in Qatar, where last season he was the league's leading scorer with 25 goals. — AP

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