Roberto Baggio bench-marked for World Cup by aficionados

In the survey by the monthly magazine Calcio 2000, whose results were made public yesterday, 72 per cent said the 31-year-old imaginative forward should be included in the Italian national team for the 1998 World Cup.

However, 59 per cent suggested he should be sitting on the substitutes bench.

The magazine noted that Baggio is seen by most fans as a possible "tactical weapon" to be fielded for portions of matches to produce a key play.

Baggio, who plays with first-division Bologna, was Italy’s hero at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, scoring decisive goals and helping the team reach the final against Brazil.

Troubled by injuries and playing on a low-ranked team, the former star of Juventus and AC Milan is an uncertain starter in the Italian World Cup team.

Italy’s coach Cesare Maldini is expected to announce the 22-player rosterearly in May.

Sastre, Platini get richer

PARIS: The presidents of the 1998 World Cup, Fernand Sastre and Michel Platini, have been given what could be collector’s items.

Yesterday, the two were gifted with 15 gold and silver coins to commemorate this summer’s World Cup by Emmanuel Constans, director of the Paris mint.

The coins bear the 1998 World Cup logo on one side, and on the other, depict the five continents, symbols from previous World Cups, and sketches of soccer players in motion. A total of 900,000 coins have been minted.

Ronaldo can actually get better

ROME: Aldair, a rival of Ronaldo in the Italian league but a team-mate of the young striker on the Brazilian national side, suggested that Ronaldo should limit his commercial commitments to avoid physical and mental exhaustion by the start of the World Cup on June 10.

Ronaldo, who plays in Italy with Inter, has several rich commercial contracts with big sponsors and is often busy with advertising campaigns andvideos.

"He must reduce the number of trips and his commercial activities. Otherwise he’s going to pay for it in terms of stress and exhaustion," said Aldair, the captain of AS Roma.

Aldair also said Ronaldo can greatly improve his technique.

"Right now he bases his play on physical strength and speed. Sooner or later he will have to learn how to score exchanging the ball with the team-mates. He can become even greater," Aldair added.

This coach is a poet at heart

TOKYO: The Japanese don’t have just a national hero as their coach. He also happens to be a poet.

Takeshi Okada’s success in leading Japan to its first ever World Cup has made him such a star he has received several book offers. "I’d rather put out a book of poems," Okada, 41, was quoted as saying by the sports Hochi newspaper yesterday. But he was quick to add with a grin, "But the only people who’d buy it are the reporters."

Okada recently told reporters that he won’t be building his team around a single player, referring tocelebrity mid-fielder Hidetoshi Nakata, 21.

Recent games have clearly shown Nakata, known to his groupies as "Hide" as the team’s key player. But he was not able to coordinate with forward Atsushi Yanagisawa, 20, in the 2-1 loss to South Korea earlier this month.

Brazil-born striker Wagner Lopes made it a point to tell Nakata that he preferred passes right to his feet, rather than the long through-passes that are Nakata’s specialty. Lopes and Nakata are team-mates on the professional J-League Bellmare Hiratsuka.