Breakdown in Slow Motion

When I was sixteen, I learned the word agonistes from an article about Roberto Baggio in a British soccer magazine. Baggio had scored two goals against Nigeria, one against Spain, and two against Bulgaria to lead the Italian squad to the 1994 World Cup final, where they would face Brazil. That game ended zero to zero after extra time, and was decided by a penalty-kick shootout. Baggio, who had done more than anyone to bring his team to the cusp of glory, missed his penalty kick and instantly became the reason why they lost. The article suggested he was never the same after.