Gabriel Batistuta: "Classic No. 9 strikers don't exist anymore"

Updated: 08 Dec, 2025 • 0 • min read

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Gabriel Batistuta: Classic No. 9 strikers don't exist anymore

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Serie A icon Gabriel Batistuta has admitted he no longer enjoys watching football, claiming the modern game has moved away from the traditional centre-forward role that defined his illustrious career.

The former Fiorentina, AS Roma and Inter Milan striker, who scored an astounding 183 goals in 318 Serie A appearances, shared his thoughts in an interview with TyC Sports in Argentina.

'A No. 9 Like Batistuta or Vieri No Longer Exists'

Batistuta said the evolution of football has transformed the job of the striker, moving away from the penalty-box predators of his era.

Football is evolving. A No. 9 like Batistuta or [Christian] Vieri no longer exists. Strikers who would stay there and dominate the box one way or another, who justified wearing the shirt by staying inside the box and making the most of every centimetre.

Now it's different; they go everywhere, they move a lot. This is today's football, but this is not what bores me. Other things discourage me from following it.

The Modern Game Leaves Him 'Discouraged'

The Argentine legend revealed that what truly puts him off watching football is its repetitive style of play.

Discussing the issue with former coach Bora Milutinović, Batistuta said:

Everyone has a similar playing style; they build up with the goalkeeper, make 20 touches next to the box, with the rival pressing, and then at some point they kick the ball forward and could have done it before, and this pushed the striker away from the danger zone.

Whilst acknowledging that the approach has been highly successful for Pep Guardiola's teams, Batistuta admitted he is not a fan.

This is today's football, the football that gave results to Guardiola, and given that we're human and we try to follow the formula of success.

This seems to be the one that makes you win a game, but I don't agree with it much.

A Career Filled with Goals and Silverware

Batistuta remains one of the most prolific strikers in Italian and Argentine football history.

Serie A champion with Roma in 2000/01
Coppa Italia winner with Fiorentina (1995/96)
Two Supercoppa Italiana titles - one with Fiorentina, one with Roma
Argentina's second-highest scorer, with 54 goals in 78 caps, behind only Lionel Messi

He also scored 10 goals in 12 World Cup matches across the 1994, 1998 and 2002 tournaments.

Batistuta retired in 2005 after spending his final two seasons at Al-Arabi, but his legacy as one of football's great No. 9s remains unquestioned - even if the role, in his eyes, no longer exists today.

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