After a glorious campaign in USA, Baggio was vying for the world’s best player with Brazil’s Romario, only for the Italy number 10 to lose everything in Pasadena.

“It was the toughest moment of my career,” Baggio said in his autobiography.

“I don't want to brag but I've only ever missed a couple of penalties in my career. And they were because the goalkeeper saved them not because I shot wide.

“That's just so you understand that there is no easy explanation for what happened at Pasadena.

“I knew Taffarel always dived so I decided to shoot for the middle, about halfway up, so he couldn't get it with his feet. It was an intelligent decision because Taffarel did go to his left, and he would never have got to the shot I planned.

“Unfortunately, and I don't know how, the ball went up three meters and flew over the crossbar.

“What is sometimes forgotten is that even if I had scored, Brazil could still have won with the last penalty because before me Baresi and Massaro had both missed. That's part of the game. I missed the last penalty, thereby 'cancelling out' those by Baresi and Massaro.

“They had to choose one image from the finals and they chose my mistake. For a change. They wanted a lamb to slaughter and chose me. Forgetting that without me we would never have reached those finals.

“After my miss I looked stunned, and that look stayed with me for a long time. I just couldn't accept how it had ended. When my teammates went to supper, I locked myself in my room.”