Gabriel Batistuta celebrated goals by sprinting to the corner flag and shouting at the sky. Given how hard he hit the ball, goalkeepers probably felt like doing the same.
The Argentine's shooting power was reckoned the most dangerous in world football during the 1990s. Keepers feared his long-range strikes, and they had reason to.
Batigol and Florence
His time at Fiorentina was one of football's great love stories. He scored 168 goals for the club, became their greatest player and stayed even when they were relegated. That kind of loyalty is not common among strikers of his quality.
The league title came late, and in other colours. He won Serie A with Roma in 2001, the first league championship of his career.
For Argentina he scored 54 goals in 78 appearances, one of the best returns in the country's history, and Pelé named him on FIFA's list of the greatest living footballers.
He was passionate, loyal and ferociously powerful, and for many he was the most charismatic striker of the 1990s. Florence still calls him a legend.
Tomorrow: number 20.
