Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Omar Batistuta (born 1 February, 1969 in Reconquista, Santa Fe Province of Argentina) is a world-famous ex-footballer. He played most of his club football at Fiorentina. He is also the highest scorer of Argentina's national team.

The Man

Batistuta was born on 1 February, 1969 to slaughterhouse worker Omar Batistuta and school secretary Gloria Batistuta in the town of Avellaneda, Santa Fe Province, Argentina, but grew up in the near city of Reconquista. After him, his parents Omar and Gloria Batistuta had three girls named Elisa, Alejandra and Gabriela.

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1 February - 1969

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At the age of 16 he met the love of his life on her 15th birthday (which is pompously celebrated in Argentina). It is said that Irina Fernandez completely ignored him at the beginning, but some 5 years later, on the 28th of December, 1990, Irina and Gabriel were married at the Saint Roque Church. The couple moved to Florence in 1991, and a year later their son Thiago was born.

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1990 - 1991

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Thanks to good performances in the Italian championship and with the Argentinean National Team, he gained fame and respect. He participated in several commercials, and was invited to numerous TV shows. In spite of this, Batistuta always remained a low-profile family person. A hero in Florence, the city erected a life-size bronze statue with his figure in recognition of his 100 matches with Fiorentina.

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In 1996, during Fiorentina's 2-1 victory at A.C. Milan, he celebrated scoring the match's decisive goal by saying Te amo, Irina ('I love you, Irina') to the cameras. The mix of sex appeal with faithful lover cemented Batistuta's reputation among Italian women.

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1996 - A.C. Milan

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In 1997 Batistuta's second son, Lucas, was born, and a third son, Joaquín, followed in 1999. In 2000 the Batistuta family moved to Rome and two years later to Milan, following Gabriel's changes of team. In 2002, after more than 10 years in Italy, the family moved to Qatar. A fourth son, Shamel, was born in 2003.

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1997 - 1999 - 2000 - Rome - 2002 - Qatar - 2003

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