@FootynewsWhat Batistuta remembers most about the last time he crossed paths with Bielsa isn't the handshake. It's the hug he almost didn't give. He sets the scene plainly: a hotel in downtown Buenos Aires, not long ago, breakfast before a later flight. The elevator doors open and there's Bielsa with his back turned, deep in conversation with a Mexican coach who'd come to consult him. Batistuta's first instinct was a debate with himself. Greet him or walk on? The Mexican happened to be facing him, Bielsa turned around, and the choice made itself. "Mister, how are you, it's been so long?" A dry handshake, dry like Bielsa, and off to breakfast. Eating alone, one thought kept circling: at 50 years old, he couldn't be someone who doesn't say what he feels. So before leaving, he went back and hugged him. A hug from the soul, as he puts it, one that says everything without words. He told Bielsa how much he admired him, how much he loved him. Bielsa kind of teared up and gave it right back: "Bati, I admire you a lot too." Very emotional, by his own account. And the part that stuck with him after? He was glad he said it, because skipping it would have meant losing that moment entirely. There's older history underneath, too. The last time he'd seen Bielsa before this was, in his words, a very sad moment. That was the national team that had to win the World Cup, the one that swept the qualifiers and went in as candidates, having done everything asked of them. Nothing to reproach themselves for, he says. He followed Bielsa because of respect, and because Bielsa taught him everything he later applied in football.

@FootynewsWhat Batistuta remembers most about the last time he crossed paths with Bielsa isn't the handshake. It's the hug he almost didn't give. He sets the scene plainly: a hotel in downtown Buenos Aires, not long ago, breakfast before a later flight. The elevator doors open and there's Bielsa with his back turned, deep in conversation with a Mexican coach who'd come to consult him. Batistuta's first instinct was a debate with himself. Greet him or walk on? The Mexican happened to be facing him, Bielsa turned around, and the choice made itself. "Mister, how are you, it's been so long?" A dry handshake, dry like Bielsa, and off to breakfast. Eating alone, one thought kept circling: at 50 years old, he couldn't be someone who doesn't say what he feels. So before leaving, he went back and hugged him. A hug from the soul, as he puts it, one that says everything without words. He told Bielsa how much he admired him, how much he loved him. Bielsa kind of teared up and gave it right back: "Bati, I admire you a lot too." Very emotional, by his own account. And the part that stuck with him after? He was glad he said it, because skipping it would have meant losing that moment entirely. There's older history underneath, too. The last time he'd seen Bielsa before this was, in his words, a very sad moment. That was the national team that had to win the World Cup, the one that swept the qualifiers and went in as candidates, having done everything asked of them. Nothing to reproach themselves for, he says. He followed Bielsa because of respect, and because Bielsa taught him everything he later applied in football.