Franco Baresi will be remembered as one of football's greatest-ever defenders
A player who became a national symbol
There are good players, great players, players who define a club, players whose charisma has lit up the game. And then, there are players who, somehow, just come to symbolise how a nation plays its football, what its football stands for, what its football is based on.
Johan Cruyff and Holland, Pele and Brazil, Franco Baresi and Italy. It is quite simple. When you think Baresi, you think vintage Italian football.
You think extreme defensive know-how and brilliance. You think ruthless elegance. You think building from the back. You think style.
Baresi, who has passed away at the age of 66, was not just a footballer - he was a way of playing football. He was someone who made the art of defence compelling.
Baresi was the totem of Italy’s golden footballing generation. He was the totem of the great AC Milan side - managed by Fabio Capello - that went on a 58-game unbeaten league run, earning them the nickname ‘Gli Invincibili’. No translation needed.
The backline of that team read: Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti. Alexa - define ruthless, define cool, define class.
For those of us from a certain generation, watching those defenders operate was fascinating. Baresi was not a commanding figure but one who exuded such intelligent authority.
He could play as a sweeper, a more conventional centre-half, or even occasionally move into what we now recognise as a pivot in front of the defence. He is one of the greatest defenders in the history of the sport.
AC Milan retired Franco Baresi's shirt after his 20 seasons at the club(Image: AC Milan via Getty Images)
The records show that he was part of the Italian squad that won the World Cup in 1982 but Baresi did not play in that tournament. Instead, of his 81 caps for the national team, his finest two hours came in a losing cause in the 1994 final in Pasadena.
He was 34 and had suffered a meniscus tear in the second game of the group stage against Norway. Yet just over three weeks later, he returned for the final against Brazil.
The game finished goalless after extra-time as Baresi, without injured team-mates Costacurta and Tassotti, put on a display that is widely acknowledged as one of the finest defensive masterclasses in World Cup history. Beset by cramp and fatigue after 120 minutes, Baresi was one of those who missed a penalty in the shootout and played only one more game for his country.
He would carry on playing for his beloved AC Milan, the 1996-97 season being his 20th and last. His number six shirt was retired.
Fabio Capello and Franco Baresi took the great AC Milan side on a 58-game unbeaten league run(Image: Getty Images)
“The entire history of AC Milan is in tears following the passing of Franco Baresi,”
the club said.
“His example and integrity will be forever etched into the club’s DNA, just as his iconic number six shirt is.”
Baresi won six Serie A titles, three European Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and three European Super Cups. He was runner-up to Milan team-mate Marco van Basten in the 1989 Ballon D’Or vote but individual accolades were a side-issue for Baresi.
It was all about Milan, all about Italy, all about defending. And that will be the special legacy of a truly great player.
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