Roberto Baggio was born on 18 February 1967 in Caldogno, a town near Vicenza. Nicknamed 'Il Divin Codino' (‘The Divine Ponytail’) due to his iconic hairstyle for the majority of his career, he's considered one of the greatest footballers to ever play the game and was just the third Italian to win the Ballon d’Or after Gianni Rivera and Paolo Rossi.

He began his career with Vicenza prior to joining Fiorentina, where he made his Serie A debut. Baggio then played for Juventus, AC Milan, Bologna, Inter and Brescia, winning a total of two Scudetti, one Coppa Italia and a UEFA Cup, as well as a series of personal awards, including both the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player Award in 1993. 

Baggio’s contribution to the Azzurri was also certainly impressive, as he almost inspired his side to World Cup success, with Italy being denied on penalties in the final of the USA ’94 World Cup. Having found the net 27 times in 56 appearances, 'Il Divin Codino' sits in fourth place for all-time goals scored for the Azzurri. In 2011, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Giacomo Raspadori was also born on 18 February, in 2000. After making his way through Sassuolo’s youth ranks, the forward continues to ply his trade for the Neroverdi in Serie A today.

At international level, Raspadori progressed through the Italy youth setup, eventually making his debut for the senior side on 4 June 2021, when the Azzurri beat the Czech Republic 4-0 in a friendly.

A member of the Euro 2020-winning squad, he scored his first Italy goal – his only one so far – in the team’s 5-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Lithuania in Reggio Emilia on 8 September 2021. He’s made seven Azzurri appearances up to this point.