WORLD CUP USA ‘94: ROUND OF 16 : SOCCER / GRAHAME L. JONES : In the End, Baggio Has Sunday Punch

For Sunday Oliseh, the agony was almost too much to bear.

Once the final whistle had sounded, once he knew that Nigeria’s World Cup dreams had been dashed, he sank to the turf at Foxboro Stadium and lay there, physically drained and emotionally exhausted.

For two hours, the 19-year-old had played the game of his life. But a single mistake in 120 minutes spelled the difference between Nigeria’s going on to the quarterfinals or going home to Lagos.

And Oliseh knew he had made that mistake.

Italy’s Giuseppe Signori, the leading scorer in the Italian League for the last two seasons, came over to console the teen-ager, helping him to his feet and exchanging shirts in the time-honored soccer tradition.

But it was not Signori’s shirt that Oliseh should have taken home as a souvenir. The one he really should have been given belonged to Roberto Baggio, the Italian superstar whose two goals condemned the African champions to a 2-1 defeat before 54,367 here Tuesday.

And it was the first of those goals, with only 106 seconds left in the game according to the stadium clock, that will haunt Oliseh.

Clemens Westerhof, Nigeria’s Dutch coach, had assigned Oliseh, from Agbor in Bendel state, the most difficult task of all Tuesday--guarding Baggio, who was voted the world’s best player last year.

On the surface, it seemed a mismatch of monumental proportions. Baggio, the 27-year-old superstar from perennial Italian champion Juventus being kept in check by a youngster who until recently was playing his club soccer for modest FC Liege in Belgium? No contest.

But Oliseh did his job in superb fashion, shadowing Baggio like a hawk over a hare. Every time the ball was passed to Baggio, there would be Oliseh to either sprint in and intercept the pass or to tackle the ball away.

As the game wore on, it appeared more and more obvious that Baggio was being taken out of the game by the teen-ager. He was still on the field, certainly, but he was no longer an influential factor in the Italian offense.

The fickle Italian reporters were poised to pillory Baggio, as soon as they got through doing the same to Coach Arrigo Sacchi.

Finally, in the dying minutes, with Nigeria clinging desperately to a 1-0 lead that would have sent the three-time world champions down to one of the most ignominious defeats in Italian soccer history, the fateful play unfolded.

The ball was played into the Nigerian penalty area, scant yards from the net. Italy’s Roberto Mussi found himself with the ball at his feet and only Nigerian goalkeeper Peter Rufai to beat. Oliseh spotted the danger and sprinted in to tackle Mussi. The Italian side-stepped the challenge and passed the ball to Baggio, who was momentarily unguarded. Baggio scored, the game was tied and Italy was saved.

Oliseh really had no choice but to leave Baggio and pressure Mussi, but because Oliseh missed his tackle, Nigeria failed.

Italy went on to win the game in overtime on Baggio’s penalty kick.

Had Nigeria held on to win, referee Arturo Brizio Carter of Mexico would surely have been blamed. Brizio turned in one of the more incompetent performances in a World Cup replete with inconsistent and intrusive officiating.

There were at least two occasions when Brizio could have awarded Italy a penalty kick, and on one of them he definitely should have after Baggio had been shoved to the ground in front of the net in a crude challenge by a Nigerian defender.

So perhaps justice was served by the final penalty kick, but it will not make Oliseh feel any better.

If there is one consolation for the youngster, it is that when the new season begins in Europe, he will be playing before fans who now know what he can do.

Just recently, Oliseh was traded from Liege to Reggina in the Italian League’s second division.

Don’t look for him to be there long. If he continues to play as he did Tuesday, he will be picked up by a first-division team in no time.

Which means he and Baggio can renew their acquaintance. Baggio might even give him a shirt.