Abel Balbo

Described as "an authentic centre-forward," by Il Corriere dello Sport in 2019, Balbo was a physically strong forward, with good feet and a powerful shot, who was renowned for his composure in front of goal and his efficient playing style. He was mainly known for his eye for goal and his movement, in particular inside the penalty area, which also made him a threat on counter–attacks; he also excelled in the air. In addition to his playing ability, he was also known to be a correct player.

Balbo was born in Empalme Villa Constitución, Santa Fe. At club level, Balbo played for Newell's Old Boys (1987–88), River Plate (1988–89), before moving to Italy and Udinese (1989–93), Roma (1993–98 and 2000–02), Parma (1998–99) and Fiorentina. He played four games for Boca Juniors before finally retiring. He scored a total of 138 goals in Serie A; his best seasons came in 1992–93 for Udinese and 1994–95 for Roma, with 22 goals in each of them. In 2000, Roma paid Fiorentina 1.75 billion Italian lire to re-sign him and offered him a two-year contract with 1.7 billion annual salary before tax.

For Argentina, Balbo scored eleven goals in 37 caps, and played at the 1990, the 1994, the 1998 FIFA World Cups, the 1989 and 1995 Copa América. In the 1995 tournament in Uruguay, Balbo partnered Gabriel Batistuta in attack, and scored a goal against Brazil's Claudio Taffarel in an infamous quarter-final game that Argentina eventually lost in a penalty shootout after Brazilian striker Tulio Costa scored the Brazilian equalizer with ten minutes to go – after clearly controlling the ball with his arm.

Abel Balbo is married to fellow Argentine Lucila de Balbo. He is a practising Roman Catholic.