Part of an Article titled: "Living Together"

One of the surprises was the designation of Roberto Sensini as captain of the team. Obviously, even the Dutch reporters were astounded by the decision. Why? They supposed that because of his image, respresentativeness, friendship with the head coach and overall, his history with the team, the election would go to Gabriel Batistuta. But this system, opened by the coach, gave the opportunity to the players to elect who would wear the captain’s armband. Sunday the 28th, before lunch, in the Golden Tulip of Hoenderloo, the players met in the gym and voted. Each one wrote on a piece of paper the name of two teammates. The vote tallied in 18 votes for Sensini, 16 for Bati, and 7 for Roberto Ayala. Bielsa agreed. After all, he considers Sensini as an experienced player whom he knows very well—having worked together in the Newell’s system, and who has a good relation with the other players. Is there another lesson to be learned from this decision? The only one would be that, in private, some of the players that were very identified with Passarella, Veron, Ortega and Pineda, looked for an alternative, voting in the first place for Sensini and second for Gabriel. This was in a climate of absolute peace, without resentment.

There is more: players who previously had maintained a cold relationship with Bati—especially in France ’98—now were overpowered by his personality. Evidently, the apartheid imposed by Passarella had weighed heavily in the previous years. Now, it’s different. So much so that even Piojo Lopez is hypnotized by Bati’s glow. “The truth is that he is a star. After being his roommate for 10 days, I have discovered a sensational person. We even have a better understanding on the pitch. The other night, I almost died because he told me that he would love for me to come to Fiorentina!” confessed Piojo.

And Hernan Crespo, perhaps the most harmed by Batigol’s current level of play: “I am aware of what Gabriel means on an international scale. If I have to wait for a place, I will wait with patience. Seriously, he is great. No one has conquered the world like he has. For me, he is the best striker in the world, without doubt.”

These testimonials speak clearly of the power of Bati within the privacy of the team and also on the field.

Two cases of amazing growth are Piojo Lopez and Hernan Crespo. The new maturity of these two is notable. They are not the same kids who, during the World Cup in France, joined with Veron and ruined the team’s relationship with the press. No. Now they appear much more mature, open to conversation and self-criticism. Perhaps it should be noted that they are now both stars in the Spanish and Italian Leagues. But, most importantly, is that they are becoming men. They are not children any more and they have a vote of confidence and recognition within the team.

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