The pinnacle shaper of AC Milan! Not Baggio, Shevchenko, Ronaldo! It's him!
In the long history of football, those strikers who have scored goals repeatedly have always attracted the attention of many fans, become the darlings of the **, and enjoy endless glory. However, those who put the team's success above their personal accolades are equally worth remembering. The world of football is constantly changing, but there are always names and numbers that will be forever etched in history. Franceno Baresi was born on May 8, 1960 in Traviato, Brescia, in the province of Lombardy, northern Italy. His older brother Giuseppe came to the world two years before him, and together the two developed a deep affection for football. Just an hour's drive from Milan, they seem destined to be in the fashion capital.
Unfortunately, when Francino was 11 years old, their mother died of illness, and after that, the father took on the responsibility of raising them alone. The 14-year-old Giuseppe joined Inter's youth team and quickly showed his talent. When Francino tried to follow in his brother's footsteps, he was rejected because he was too thin to play as a centre-back. After a double rejection of Inter Milan and Atalanta, he eventually joined a rival at his brother's club and was given the opportunity to join after two trials. The two brothers traveled to Milan together, and Franceno joined the sports learning program at the famous Milanello training center.
Just five years later, their father also died, which forced the two brothers to grow up quickly, turning all their grief into motivation to chase their dream of becoming professional footballers. While Giuseppe gradually integrated into the first team under the guidance of Eugenio Bersolini, Franceno was equally impressive in Milan's youth team, earning high praise from manager Nils Lidholm. Despite being only 17 years old, Leadholm believes that Franceno has shown maturity and intelligence beyond his years. On 23 April 1978, the youngster made his Serie A debut against Verona and immediately proved his on-pitch intelligence and technical prowess. He quickly became an indispensable force in the team. The club's masseurs affectionately called him "Pistignini", meaning "little one", while the Italian ** gave him the nicknames "Another Beresi" and "Bellasi II" in recognition of his excellence in the Italian U-21 national team.
Ahead of the start of the next season, Lidholm made it clear that Francino would be the libero of choice for Neri, a decision that further cemented his place at the heart of the team. Under the tutelage of Fabio Capello and Ballon d'Or winner Gianni Rivera, Milan took on a new look that season, winning the 1978-79 Serie A title, the tenth trophy in the club's history.
However, the following period was challenging for Milan, as the team was devastated by the 1980 commission Nairo match-fixing scandal, with president Felicia Colombo suspended and the team relegated to Serie B. The Baresi brothers were both named to Italy at the 1980 European Championships, and although Franceno was unavailable, Italy finished fourth in the competition. At the young scavenger's insistence, Milan managed to get promoted, immediately clinching the Serie B title and returning to the top flight. But after returning to the top flight, Milan's performance was not.
In the 1981-82 season, they were relegated again. Despite the difficult situation, Franceno remained at Milan, and his loyalty and leadership skills made him the heart and soul of the team. In 1983, he was named captain, becoming one of the youngest captains in the team's history. That year, Milan won Serie B again and steadily improved in the following season, finishing fifth in 1987-88. Under Franceno's leadership, Milan once again showed their quality and potential.
From 1983 to 1987, AC Milan's performances did not attract much attention in football, finishing fifth on average and not winning any awards in the process. In 1986, Silvio Berlusconi's arrival put an end to the management crisis caused by the involvement of former Giuseppe Farina. In 1987, Fabio Capello took on the role of manager. In his search for a new manager, Berlusconi set his sights on Parma's Arrigo Sacchi, who appointed Sacchi before the 1987-88 season, despite a controversial decision at the time. With the addition of Marco van Basten and Ruud Hoolit as a Dutch pair, as well as the arrivals of Carlo Ancelotti and Alessandro Costacuta, the squad has been significantly strengthened. The football philosophy introduced by Sacchi has attracted a new fan base for Milan. He tried to break away from the defensive mindset inherent in Italian football and build a positive team that defended from the front with a high-pressure strategy.
Under Sacchi's tactics, the entire team adopts a 4-4-2 formation, emphasizing positional understanding and close cooperation between players. In Sachi's first season, Milan ended a nine-year title drought. While the new attacking line has been widely praised, the key to victory was an impregnable backline, with Franceno Baresi at the centre of the defensive system as captain. He formed an impenetrable defence with young and swift left-back Paolo Maldini, the versatile Alessandro Costa Curta and the resilient right-back Maro Tosotti. The defensive team, with impeccable communication and tacit cooperation, built a solid defensive fortress throughout the season, thwarting opponents' attacks and driving counter-attacks with aggressive high-pressure strategies. At the end of the season, Milan had lost just two games, conceding 14 goals.
Baresi, who failed to qualify for the 1986 World Cup, earned him a place for the European Championships two years later with his new achievements at the club. His impressive performances in the early stages of the tournament made him an indispensable part of the Italian team, although they were eventually eliminated by the Soviet Union in the semi-finals. Subsequently, defensive midfielder Frank Ricard was brought in, and his close cooperation with Carlo Ancelotti further strengthened the team.
Milan have been unable to achieve results at the European Championships for a long time since 1969, but this restructured team, with its formidable Dutch trio and unrivalled defensive prowess, has become a difficult presence for European opponents. Milan were unbeatable throughout the tournament, including an impressive 6-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. In the final against 1986 European champions Steabrest, Milan displayed confident possession and ruthless high-pressure tactics to win 4-0 and rise to the top of Europe. Three weeks later, Milan won 3-1 in the Super Cup final against Sampdoria
Won the second trophy of the season. In 1989, Baresi also helped the team win the Intercontinental Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, making it one of the most successful years in the club's history. In the Ballon d'Or vote, Baresi and his teammates also received individual accolades, with Franco second only to Van Basten, who won the Ballon d'Or again, while Ricard came in third, marking Milan's dominance in football.
The taste of European glory is still clear, with 11 men under Saki working hard to defend their cup honours. In the thrilling second round and semi-finals, they beat Real Madrid and Bayern Munich before meeting Benfica in May. A month before the final, Juventus beat the European champions in the Coppa Italia, while Napoli, led by Diego Maradona, claimed their second Serie A title, passing Milan by just two points. With a slight shortage at the domestic level, a resilient Milan team takes on Benfica in Vienna. Their brave captain set the tone for the game with relentless tackles and aggressive insertions.
The stalemate lasted until the 68th minute, until Ballon d'Or winner Ricard's goal broke the balance. A rock-solid defence ensured a solid defence, successfully rejecting Portugal's attempt to deuce and retaining the European Cup. For the first time in a decade, a club has won the honour two years in a row, a feat that took another 27 years to be achieved by other teams. The captain excelled in both the final and the league and was subsequently named Serie A Player of the Year, surpassing Maradona, Lothar Mateus, Van Basten and Roberto Baggio.
After being named to the Italian team for the 1990 World Cup, Baresi finally made his mark on the World Cup stage. Playing alongside captain Giuseppe Bogmi, Franco did an excellent job of keeping five clean sheets in a row for Italy. They have kept a record 518 minutes of clean sheets at the World Cup, a record high, and have made just two defensive errors in the entire tournament. In the semi-finals, Argentina scored a goal in the 67th minute to offset Ciracci's opening goal. The match failed to decide the winner and went to a penalty shoot-out. The Milan captain scored the first penalty decisively, but the eventual World Cup title was taken by the hosts. The free agent was recognized for his excellence in the tournament and was included in FIFA's official tournament lineup.
The 1990-91 season was full of thrilling moments, as Milan finished runners-up in the league again, this time losing to Sampdoria and reaching the last four of the Coppa Italia, where they were disqualified from a match with Marseille. When the match was interrupted and Milan refused to continue the match and left the stadium as half of the lights were turned off, UEFA subsequently declared France the winner and banned Milan from the following year's tournament. It was the first time since Sacchi took charge in 1987 that the club experienced a trophy-free season, which prompted a change of manager. In the summer, Sacchi left to take over the national team. Since then, Sacchi has been hailed as the prophet of football, playing a key role in the transformation of the club and the revolution of the football world as a whole. His tactics and player arrangements were inherited by Fabio Capello, who managed to lead the club back to victory despite initially being considered a puppet of Berlusconi.
As a four-time European champion, the tournament went on as usual despite missing the tournament. It is clear that Milan, who have been excluded from European competitions, has given them more energy to focus on reclaiming the Serie A title. With Marco van Basten completely ** and the team renewed, Capello had an extremely positive start at Milan. At the winter break, Milan were at the top of the table with a lead. The Dutch striker has scored nine goals and is unbeaten all season. Baresi and his renowned defensive quartet have developed into world-class players over a five-year run-in, and this experienced squad is stronger than ever. They helped Fabio Capello's side set a stunning record, going unbeaten throughout 34 league matches to win the Serie A title. This is an unprecedented achievement that has only been broken by Juventus' winning streak in recent years. In addition, they have conceded just 21 goals in the league, showing the solidity of their defence.
In the 1992-93 season, AC Milan continued their impressive run under Fabio Capello, continuing their dominance in Serie A and Europe. They set a staggering record of 58 games unbeaten, a record that began on 19 May 1991 and ended on 21 March 1993 with a 1-0 defeat against Parma at the San Siro. During this period, Serie A was considered the most competitive league in Europe, with some of the best players in the world and the most respected coaches. Fabio Capello's Milan are not only unbeaten at home, but they have also transferred that excellent performance to the European stage, where they made it all the way to the final in the newly named UEFA Champions League. Despite failing to beat Marseille in the final, Milan showed strength and resilience to prove once again that they are one of the greatest Italian clubs of all time.
In the summer of 1993, the team underwent important changes, including the departure of the two pillars of the Netherlands, Plitt and Ricard. Despite this, Capello managed to find a replacement and strengthen the team. Milan's attacking prowess has declined due to injuries and the departure of key players, forcing Capello to adopt a more defensive approach. This defensive strategy has been successful, with the team keeping a clean sheet in their first seven Serie A matches and not conceding a single goal in the first two rounds of the Champions League.
In the 1993-94 season, AC Milan showed a strong defence in both the domestic league and on the European stage, especially between August 1993 and March 1994, losing just one game and keeping 20 clean sheets in 11 matches. Their defensive line, led by Baresi, has not been breached for 929 consecutive minutes. Despite the enormous challenges, Milan managed to win their third consecutive Serie A title and reach the Champions League final again with a 3-0 win over Monaco in the Champions League semi-finals.
However, the match pitted them against tournament favourites, Johan Cruyff-led Barcelona. In the run-up to the final, their self-confidence was somewhat justified, with Baresi and Costa Curta suspended, Van Basten out injured, and Jean-Pierre Papin and Brian Laudrup ruled out due to UEFA rules that limit a team to a maximum of three non-national players. After a year of hard-fought defence, the damaged Serie A champions stunned the Catalan giants with an attack that Barcelona players and the Dutch legend had anticipated. Tosotti lifted Milan's fifth European Championship while the suspended heroes watched.
The latter four are widely regarded as the greatest defensive line of all time, and Milan in 1993-94 were the main basis for this assessment. That season, Milan won the Serie A title in typical Italian style, scoring just 36 goals and conceding just 15 in 34 league games. Under Baresi's leadership, the team kept 22 Serie A clean sheets, which helped Sebastiano Rossi to set the record for the longest clean sheet in league history. After Bogmi's retirement, Franco was appointed captain and in Sacchi's third year in charge, he was chosen to captain the Italian team at the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
Italy got off to a poor start in Group E against the Republic of Ireland, Mexico and Norway, but narrowly avoided an early elimination by scoring one more goal than Norway. In the second match of the group stage, Baresi suffered a meniscus injury in his knee that would take several months to heal. The captain is already late in his career, and this World Cup is his last chance to pursue glory on the international stage, but the injury predicts that he will miss the trip to the United States. Two days after he left the field, Balesi was quickly operated on because he was unable to straighten his leg or walk unaided. With the close support of his family, he embarked on his ** journey. As he watched helplessly, he watched as the Italian team relied on Roberto Baggio's astonishing performance to make it through the rest of the tournament and reach the final.
Unexpectedly, Baresi was declared eligible for the final selection of Sacchi to face a Brazilian team with a fast forward combination, and Italy desperately needed a defensive pair that knew how to stop Romario and Bebeto. Now that Maldini and Baresi are both available, the obvious choice has been made. After 25 days of injury, the captain led the Italian team to the Pasadena Rose Bowl. The 34-year-old defender perfectly illustrates his worth with his superb defensive prowess, anticipating every Brazilian player's move and disrupting their attacking plans with ease. Baresi seems to have a third lung, as he can also unleash his trademark sweeping run after successfully blocking his opponent's attack, inspiring Italy's counter-attack.
The summer heat in California was a great test for Captain Azuri, who endured leg cramps in the final moments of the final. With his admirable perseverance, he stepped to the penalty spot and started the game. After a stressful American summer, Baresi's shot flew over the crossbar. His prominence was overshadowed by a mistake by Baggio, who, one of the greatest players in the world at the time, shot the ball high in a similar fashion, ceding the World Cup trophy to Brazil. It was an extremely brutal way to lose, and despite his excellent performance in the game, Baresi was remembered for a single mistake. He became the sixth player in history to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the World Cup. After another game for Azzuri in September, Baresi announced his retirement from the Italian national team, making 81 appearances.
During his three-year tenure as captain, he was selected for three World Cups, two European Championships and one Olympic Games. Shortly after Baresi's return, as captain, he helped the team win their third consecutive Super Cup in August, the third under Capello's tutelage. After Van Basten's early retirement and Papin's move to Bayern Munich, Rinneri faced challenges in domestic competition. After the defeat in the Intercontinental Cup in 1994, the team's league performance began to decline, and key points were dropped against weaker teams such as Criminese and Padua, resulting in Juventus occupying the top spot in the new year. Fabio Capello's side beat Arsenal over two legs to win the 1994 UEFA Super Cup and progress to the Champions League final again after victories over Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain. At this point, he has dropped to fourth place and can only hope to win the UEFA Champions League to qualify for next year's competition.
In Vienna, they faced a young and dynamic Ajax team led by a group of teenage talents. The experienced Italians were evenly matched with the young Dutchman and the game continued in a 0-0 stalemate until the 85th minute, when 18-year-old goalscorer Patrick Kluivert became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Champions League final to win with a left-footed shot. Capello signed 28-year-old Baggio and Liberian striker George Weir in an effort to rebuild his attacking line, with the latter being the focal point of the team's way forward. Although Italy's golden boy is past his prime, he has led Milan back to the top with Ville, pressing their opponents in a unique style and limiting their scoring as much as possible. Due to the lack of European competitions, there was no need to rotate the squad, and Capello was able to use the best players in the league to compete for the title. With a 21-3 record, they stood out in Serie A, eventually overtaking Juventus by eight points to bring the trophy back to Milan.
It was Baresi's sixth top-flight title. Despite rumours of retirement, he chose to stay as captain for the upcoming 1996-97 season. With Capello moving to Real Madrid at the end of five years in Milan, Oscar Tabares' decision to be chosen by Silvio Berlusconi to replace him, despite his lack of successful European experience, was somewhat weak. The four-game losing streak before Christmas was unacceptable to the team, and after being eliminated from the Champions League group stage, the Uruguayan coach was replaced by the experienced Arrigo Sacchi in a bid to turn the team around. The team started the new year off with 38 points dropped in Serie A and dropped to 11th place by the end of the season.
In the summer of 1997, Franco Baresi officially announced his retirement, ending their football career with Maro Tosotti who began his professional journey. Although his final season ended unsatisfactorily as a player of the Romance Insider, it did not detract from the ups and downs of the club during the 20 seasons he spent at Milan. Baresi is a leader who has led the team from Serie B to glory. He has won six Serie A titles, three European Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, four Italian Super Cups, two Serie B titles and a Mitropa Cup. His dedication and loyalty to the club, captaining the club for 15 years and making 719 appearances, proved himself to be an enduring legend for AC Milan. On October 28, 1997, Baresi said goodbye to the San Siro Stadium in a match to celebrate his career, which was followed by an emotional lap of honour between Milan and the All-Stars.
In tribute to Beresi, the Milan club retired his number 6 shirt, a move that showed great respect for his extraordinary contributions, as if Ajax were paying tribute to Johan Cruyff and Napoli to Diego Maradona. This was the first time in AC Milan's history that such action was taken, and in 2009 the club also retired Paolo Maldini's legendary number 3 shirt. After Beresi's retirement, Maldini inherited his captaincy of the national team and the country. Although once underrated, Maldini, nicknamed "The Little Man" and "Beresi II", was known as the "Caesar Franz" for his extraordinary abilities and leadership acumen, as a tribute to his childhood idol, the German legend Franz Beckenbauer. At the same time, his older brother Giuseppe was affectionately known as "the other Beresi".
Franco Beresi is not only a legend on the pitch, but also an illustrious professional example. His maturity and professionalism helped Maldini grow into perhaps one of the greatest defenders of all time at just 16 years old. Their partnership was undoubtedly successful, playing 401 times together in AC Milan's black and red shirts, and building an almost impeccable defence alongside Tosotti and Costacuta. This backline is widely regarded as the most impregnable in the history of football.
In 1999, two years after his retirement, Beresi was honorably selected as Milan's Player of the Century. Even today, banners and tifos in his honour fly over the San Siro Stadium. In 2002 he briefly joined Fulham as director of football, although his days in west London were ended by tensions with French manager Jean Tigana and a change of personal philosophy. After a brief resignation, he was appointed Under-19 coach by AC Milan in 2006, but then decided to retire until the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Club president Paulo Scaloni later announced Beresi as Milan's honorary vice-president until 2021.
Standing at 5'9", Baresi has managed to become a world-renowned football defender, and sometimes even hailed as the best defender on the planet, which is a testament to his remarkable intelligence. A standard standout centre-back is often over six feet tall, with broad shoulders, well-developed muscles, and excellent athleticism. However, Baresi did not possess these innate qualities, but he still reached respectable heights. He must read the course of the game with unmistakable accuracy through thoughtfulness and concentration in order to effectively stop opposing strikers. A calm and intelligent footballer, Baresi excels at moving defence quickly, laying traps through a system of zone markers and anticipating the opponent's intentions. He often managed to induce his opponents to be offside and subtly convince the linesman. It's his key tactical intelligence, quick thinking, and excellent positional sense that allow Baresi to be effective and cut off opponents' attacks.
His passing range and possession were underrated aspects of Baresi's game, allowing him to not only play in midfield, but also as a libero to plan the attack. Baresi, a long-time captain, has a strong on-field presence, which earned him the captain's armband from a young age. His professionalism, leadership and proven discipline have helped him maintain his captaincy for 15 consecutive seasons. In a sport where scoring goals is a top priority, the role of a defender can be overlooked or even underestimated. Franco Baresi is a perfect example of how unfair this perception can be. His long period of excellence at the highest level of football is enough for him to be mentioned when discussing the greatest players in history.