In 2000, Capello identified Gabriel Batistuta as the man to deliver the Scudetto to Roma, the serial underachievers. But Franco Sensi, the president, said that Roma could not afford him . . .
Sensi would need to be persuaded, but Capello and [Franco] Baldini could not do it alone. So they called Mario Sconcerti, editor of Corriere dello Sport, and invited him round to dinner. Baldini revealed that he had been sounding Fiorentina out about the possibility of bringing in Batistuta, but that Sensi was very reticent, not wanting to spend the necessary money.
Maybe, just maybe, if Corriere ran with the story, it would gather steam, fans would get excited and a whole campaign to bring Ba