Franko Baresi

Franco Baresi was born in Travagliato (Brescia), and arrived in Milan in the summer of 1974 when he was only 14 years old. From that moment on he wore the red-and-black shirt with pride and would earn one and a half million lire (his first wage packet was only twenty thousand lire- about seven dollars!). Playing for Milan he won, lost, suffered and triumphed in Italy and all over the world. His career was launched on the 23rd of April 1978, when he was selected for the first team in a game against Verona, which they went on to win 2-1. Once on the team, he impressed many and was never pulled out, and he soon became a pillar of strength. At the tender age of 22 Baresi, nicknamed 'Piscinin' (meaning 'small' in Milanese) by his team mates, became captain and earned the title of Golden Boy. What followed was his 'ticket to ride'. In twenty years he played in 716 official games for the first team: 470 in Serie A, 61 in B (Milan were in Serie B in 1980-81 for match-fixing), 97 in the Italian Cup, 50 in the Champion's League, 19 in the UEFA Cup, 6 in the European Supercup, 4 in the Intercontinental Cup, 3 in the Mitropa Cup, 5 in the Italian Supercup and 1 in the UEFA Playoffs. He won 6 Scudetti ('78-79, '87-88, '91-92, '92-93 '93-94, '95-96), 3 Champion's League Trophies('88-89, '89-90, '93-94), 2 Intercontinental Cups (89 and 90), 3 European SuperCups (89, 90, 94) and 4 Coppa Italia's (88, 92, 93, 94.) He scored 12 goals in Serie A over a 22 year career.He played for the Azzurri 81 times, 31 as captain, and scored only one goal, against Russia (in Bari, 20th February 1988) in a game which Italy won 4-1. He played for Italy in three World Cups, winning the ultimate prize in Spain in 1982, although he was very young and wasn't utilized much; in '94 they lost against Brazil in a penalty shoot-out, with him missing all the games after the group stage due to injury and making it just in time for the Final. He missed one of the penalties. His debut was on the 4th December 1982 (Italy-Romania 0-0) and his international farewell came in Maribor on the 7th September 1994 in a 1-1 draw against Slovenia. Alongside Beckenbauer and Scirea, he is considered as the greatest sweeper in the history of soccer. For many years his brother Giuseppe played for Inter and was therefore one of his greatest rivals. Franco, who has four brothers and sisters, is married and has two children called Edorado and Gianandrea. He retired after the 1996/1997 season and Berlusconi wanted to retire himself when he heard Baresi was hanging up his boots. Berlusconi left he Parliamentary quarters just to see his farewell match, which was an all-star match with Sacchi and Capello on each bench. Capello coaced the current Milan squad, while Sacchi coached the squad that won so much in the early 90's. The San Siro was packed and the best moment was Baresi scoring the 88th minute. He left the field with tears, as did the fans. His number 6 shirt is already a legend and it has been retired just like Michael Jordan's #23 shirt. He was the first Italian player in any Italian pro sport to have his jersey retired. He is now coach of Milan's Primavera squad and will probably be a coach in the future. He was a great player loved by everyone and won't be forgotten.