Gianni De Biasi exclusive: Juventus great Baggio at same level as Cristiano Ronaldo thanks to 'fantasy'

Azerbaijan coach Gianni de Biasi says Roberto Baggio would sit comfortably in comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo should the Italian be playing today.

De Biasi's Azerbaijan ran Ronaldo and Portugal close during last year's World Cup qualifiers, losing narrowly 1-0 away before falling 3-0 at home.

And for the ties, De Biasi came up against former Manchester United striker Ronaldo, someone he's watch closely during his career.

Quizzed about how he tackled Ronaldo during those qualifiers, De Biasi told Tribalfootball.com: "I think now with age, it's affecting the performances of Cristiano and also the fact that maybe he did not adapt 100% there (at United).

"He tried this summer to get away and didn't do it... There are a lot of reasons that may've affected his performances.

"But I think the career of Ronaldo has been unbelievable and his dedication towards this career and what he has done, well, it's magical."

Like Ronaldo, Roberto Baggio is a Ballon d'Or winner and he also won Serie A titles with Juventus and AC Milan.

During his long career, De Biasi took charge of Brescia in Serie A, where he worked with the former Italy World Cup captain. Thanks to his time with AC Milan and Juve, Baggio is regarded as among Italy's finest ever players.

And having seen up close both Baggio and Ronaldo, we asked De Biasi if the 'Divine Ponytail' could be regarded in the same bracket as Ronaldo.

"Its very hard to compare different players from different times in football," he replied. "I think they are players that from some point of view do have similarities.

"Also Baggio can be up there, based on the fact that though he played in a different position he had more fantasy (creativity) than Cristiano."