EARLY YEARS

Gabriel Omar Batistuta is, was and forever will remain in history as one of the best strikers in the world. He's rich, handsome, famous, envied by men and desired by women. But like everyone else, he was once young, unknown and penniless. He, like most of us have had difficult moments, periods of suffering and uncertainity which he faced with dignity.

Gabriel never gives up, he always wants to live life to the fullest, knowing full well all the obstacles that will be thrown at his feet. He sees the unknown as a challenge, something to conquer. Everything Gabriel is and possesses today is due to his work, dedication and sacrifice.

Bati was a beautiful, happy, chubby child. He enter this world voicing his joy at being born, the first of February, l969. The city of Avellaneda did not know that the greatest soccer star of the nineties had been born. From this small town and not from Reconquista, even though this city has followed Bati's life very closely, the legend emerged.

A childhood lived under the close watch of "Nonno" Melchor and his father Osmar. "Nonno" Melchor an important, dignified, loving figure in Bati's life. "Nonno" Melchor was the head of the Batistuta family. Bati's life has always been inmerse in love and caring given to him by his mother Gloria with whom he has a very special and close relation. The carefree, happy childhood of "el gringo", name given to him because of his coloring, was not marred by the hard times his family lived through at this period of his life due to economic crisis. The joy and the love for life has always been part of Bati's being. Even though things were tight, Bati was happy just going fishing, playing ball or day-dreaming. But his imaginings fell short to his ambitions. "Il gordo", the fat one, another name given to Bati because of his two or three extra pounds, knew things would happen, his life was like an unwriten book just waiting for the day when his luminous future would be written.

In the Batistuta 'family tree' Gabriel will also be set apart. After Bati's birth, Gloria and Osmar were gifted with three splendid daughters, Elisa, Alejandra and Gabriela. Bati never felt any envy toward his sisters, maybe a little jealousy at first when he was five. From the age of sixteen Bati's attention was concentrated in the beauty and sweetness of one "femina", Irina Fernandez, who turned out to be his star. Even at that time Bati was able to see the importance of this one woman in his life when he completely forgot his beautiful date of that night to dedicate his time in wooing that other lovely girl named Irina.

All this happened at Irina's 15th birthday party. But Bati's attraction was not reciprocated at first. It was as if he was 'painted in the wall'. Bati was rejected, Yes, ignored. Irina danced with everyone but gave "il gringo" just a few minutes of her time. It's true Gabriel was not an impressive man at the time, he was just a young boy, he was not famous or fascinating as he is now. But the character was there, and even at that young age two of his best traits surfaced, his determination and persistance. Even while going after small things, Bati won't give up, so, he would not give up on something as important as conquering the love of his life, Irina. So, on the 28 of December, l990 in St. Roque church, Gabriel brought to the altar a radiant Irina and there he said the most important 'YES' of his life..