They're All Bitches

"They're all bitches" is what Wiel Coerver said at the time he was trainer of Feyenoord on soccer players that had only fathered daughters. But Gabriel Batistuta is definitely not a bitch. The day before the match versus England the Argentine top scorer became the father of a third son that was given the name Joaquin.

Batistuta embodies the South American version of the modern-day cowboy. The billions of lires he has earned during the past seven years with the Italian club Fiorentina, were invested by him in extensive landed estates and lots of cattle. Shortly before the world championships the Argentine just swiftly bought a hundred cows.

The cattle farm is momentarily managed by his father but Gabriel knows his future after soccer. That's when he will return with his wife Irina and sons Thiago, Lucas and Joaquin to his native country to be a farmer himself. "Soccer is my profession and not my life", Batistuta says. His life fulfilment would be sitting on the terrace of a splendid farmhouse in Reconquista at sundown, watching over his cattle grazing at the pampas. Or dabbling in the Parana, a broad river. "In the water I can enjoy myself like a child", he says.

The cattle farmer's willingness to work is reflected in Batistuta's style of playing on the soccer field. He's not one of the lazy strikers waiting for the ball to then take a decisive action. The Argentine goal machine moves across a large part of the field. To the left and the right, backwards and forwards. That liveliness costs an amount of strength, but still Batistuta has enough reserves left to strike hard at the decisive moments.

The love for animals was brought on to him by one of his grandfathers. Grandpa also used to trade cattle. With him the young Gabriel made long trips through the fields of the province Santa Fe. This also had to do with the fact that he was raised mainly by his grandma Catalina. His parents used to labour day and night to make a slender income.

Batistuta's grandparents did not only teach him about the animals but they also taught him about people. "I discovered quite early that poor people are often highly elevated above other people that drown in their money. My eyes were opened to the social abuses in my country."

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