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AC Milan and Italy legend Franco Baresi, regarded as one of the greatest all-time defenders, dies aged 66
Franco Baresi
Franchino Baresi
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Who is this?
Franchino Baresi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfraŋko baˈreːzi; -eːsi]; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining the club for 15 seasons. Widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time, he was ranked 19th in World Soccer magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century. With Milan, he won three European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, six Serie A trophies, four Supercoppa Italiana titles, two European Super Cups and two Intercontinental Cups, as well as a World Cup with Italy. With the Italy national team, he was a member of the squad that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the first in 44 years. He also played in the 1990 World Cup held on home soil, where he was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team, while leading them to a third place in the tournament. At the 1994 World Cup, he was named Italy's captain and was part of the squad that reached the final, although he would miss a penalty in the resulting shoot-out as Brazil lifted the trophy. Baresi also represented Italy at two UEFA European Championships, in 1980 and 1988, and at the 1984 Olympics, reaching the semi-finals on each occasion. The younger brother of former footballer Giuseppe Baresi, after joining the Milan senior team as a youngster, Franco Baresi was initially nicknamed "Piscinin", Milanese for "little one". Due to his skill and success, he was later known as "Kaiser Franz", a reference to fellow sweeper Franz Beckenbauer. In 1999, he was voted Milan's Player of the Century. After his final season at Milan in 1997, the club retired Baresi's shirt number 6. He was named by Pelé one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at the FIFA centenary awards ceremony in 2004. Baresi was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
Career
- 1960Born
- 1977Joined AC Milan
- 1979Joined Italy national under-21 football team
- 1982Joined Italy men's national association football team
- 1991Won Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
- 2017Won Gold Collar for Sports Merit
Trivia
- •Place of birth: Travagliato
- •Citizenship: Italy
- •Known as: association football player, association football coach
- •Sport: association football
What happened recently
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Former AC Milan captain Franco Baresi, one of Italy's most acclaimed defenders, dies at 66
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Franco Baresi cause of death: the eternal legend of Milan and Italian soccer has passed away
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Franco Baresi, i funerali nella basilica di Sant'ambrogio a Milano: decisa da e ora.
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Mr. Morto Baresi, I'm annuncio del Milane e dolore de la famiglia: i gesto delella nipote Regina
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Falleció Franco Baresi, ex capitán del AC Milan y aclamado defensa italiano. Tenía 66 años
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Who was Franco Baresi? AC Milan’s eternal No. 6 dies at 66, leaving behind a legacy of unwavering loyalty
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'Italian football has lost one of its legends' - Tributes pour in after the death of Franco Baresi
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Who was Franco Baresi’s wife Maura Lari and how many children do the couple have?
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Milan & Italy legend Baresi: ‘Gattuso is among the least responsible for the defeat’
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‘You walked down the tunnel and saw Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Gianfranco Zola. You asked yourself “Have we got a chance?”’ Terry Phelan on Ireland’s World Cup 94 upset
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‘Turn all my dreams into reality’ – Baresi explains how Berlusconi transformed AC Milan
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Franco Baresi spiega di avere il Pallone d’Oro originale pur non avendolo mai vinto: ci pensò Berlusconi
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Baresi and Bergomi the ‘secret’ torchbearers at 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
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