Batistuta, unfiltered: criticism of young players, praise for Bielsa, and memories of River

Gabriel Batistuta gave the conference  "The Power of Discipline" at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Neuquén, a motivational talk in which he addressed topics such as perseverance, humility, and the importance of discipline in life. In that context, the historic scorer for the Argentina National Teamreflected on his career, praised Marcelo Bielsa, criticized current footballers, and recalled his contentious departure from River to join Boca.

One of the harshest moments was when he targeted certain repeated narratives in today's football: "I hear people say "we gave 100%," but how did you give that percentage when you play the clásico? What did you do in the other matches? Who did you play for or are you playing for, yourself or the fans? That really angers me, because one has to play for oneself," Bati stated. He added: "You always have to give a little more, that's what should drive you."

When asked about the coach who influenced him the most, Batistuta did not hesitate to name Marcelo Bielsa: "I had one who made a mark on me and everything changed for me from the day I arrived in Rosario. There, they told me Bielsa was going to be the coach," he recounted, then emphasized the intensity with which the Rosario native worked even at the beginning of his career, when he was already chasing the dream of coaching the Albiceleste.

Another memory he shared was the conflict he experienced with  Daniel Passarella at River, which ended up being key to his move to Boca: "I realized that the man did not want me. I tried in every possible way... so I met with him and told him I needed to leave. I was 20 years old and I was crazy.  I needed to leave because I wanted to make a living from football, and if I spent a year without playing, my chances would disappear," he explained.

Finally, Batistuta spoke about his pride in representing the country and distinguished the motivation of local players compared to those from other countries: "The Italian plays because they're going to get paid for being on the National Team, meanwhile we would have died to come here. We never earned a single peso," he stated. He also described the long trips from Europe to fulfill drafts, sacrifices that, according to him, were worth it for the love of the Albiceleste jersey.