Sorry for the late reply, there's also quite a few bits to address which resulted in a long post that feels all over the place.It's absolutely not a bad thing, and in the context of this game he's just been playing knockout rounds which again counts in his favour, I just think the "closest thing to a one-man team since Maradona in '86" is very overblown. He was brilliant, but not breathtakingly good. Eusébio was, Pelé was, Cruyff, Beckenbauer and Platini were...each of them played in excellent teams with perhaps Portugal '66 being at the same level as Italy '94, but they were consistently brilliant throughout and, to me, that's much more important/impressive. The only reason I would use '94 as a criticism is for the reasons outlined in that article and something that was reiterated throughout his career and backed up by his somewhat nomadic career - he was deemed a luxury player by many, Sacchi being the most notable one. I'm no fan of Marcotti but he's got a reasonably in-depth knowledge of Italian football at the time and here's what he said...
I actually agree with Baggio largely being a luxury player, but for me '94 is what lifts him above those criticisms & marks him as one of the greats. He definitely did not dominate that World Cup in the way other greats may have done, but I think he did carry Italy. I'm not sure where that one-man team quote comes from but I think it gives the wrong impression - by no means was he a force of nature, dominating games single-handedly. The context wasn't right for his best game, but his ability & his will to win or whatever, meant that he rose above a crap system in not ideal physical condition to decide on his own the key moments of games in Italy's favour.
Any negative aimed at Baggio & Italy in that World Cup is better aimed at Sacchi I think. He was a great coach with a vision of football that changed how the game was played, but then I think he never changed with the game as things moved on further. In my opinion he did a terrible job with the national team. Despite favouring Baggio over the likes of Vialli & Mancini (taking neither in '94 after falling out with both), he never found a system that allowed Baggio to shine, nor even a settled team (he apparently used 77 different players in his 53 games in charge). They almost went out at the group stages before Baggio did carry them to the final. Sacchi went on to snub Baggio for Euro '96 where they actually did go out in the group stages.
It's funny, I think these criticisms are all true of Del Piero, but Baggio, without the same team ethic/willingness to run actually did decide games at the highest level when he wasn't at his vintage best, which puts him a level above. I'm not arguing that's he better than Di Stéfano, obviously (mainly because I've never really watched him)!
I think that Marcotti snippet is incredibly harsh. When Baggio played at the top level, he performed at the top level. He moved clubs a lot because he fell out with numerous coaches. He was unlucky with Lippi/Sacchi (though he still bailed both out), but he certainly didn't seem easy to manage - I think he probably just has a personality that's not ideal for football (nor bureaucracy/or just being able to work with anyone else on anything, judging by his recent FIGC resignation). You also get the sense he's one of those players who was never as happy after leaving the first club he loved.
On the luxury player thing, I think one of the most interesting things about Italian football is the complete reverence for the fantasista at club level, without it ever easily translating to the national team. Players of the highest quality such as Baggio & Totti only getting 50 odd caps each (& the amount of different roles Totti was required to fill for the national team) seems testament to that. Mario Corso (23 caps) & Gigi Meroni (6 caps, though he died incredibly young at 24) are earlier examples given in John Foot's Calcio - players who were phenomenal at club level yet weren't ever deemed to fit the national team's strict system. There is that whole history of the staffetta/relay not just linked to forwards, following on from Mazzola & Rivera, with the debates over which one creative/luxury player should get the nod.
