Franco Baresi

Franco Baresi

Personal information
Date of birth	8 May 1960 (1960-05-08)
Place of birth	Travagliato (Brescia), Italy
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Sweeper (Retired)
Youth career
	AC Milan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1977–1997	Milan	719	(33)
National team
1979–1982	Italy U-21	10	(1)
1979–1980	Italy Olympic	6	(1)
1982–1994	Italy	82	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Franco Baresi (born 8 May 1960 in Travagliato, Italy) is an Italian football youth team coach and former player. He played as a sweeper and spent his entire career with Serie A club AC Milan. Baresi was nicknamed "Piscinin", Milanese for "Little one". In 1999, Baresi was voted AC Milan Player of the Century and is widely regarded as one of the finest defenders of his generation.

He is also the younger brother of Internazionale legend and current assistant manager Giuseppe Baresi.

Career

His older brother Giuseppe brought him for a trial in Inter's youth team, but Franco was rejected. Despite this setback, he refused to give up his dream and tried out for the Milan youth team, where he was accepted.

Club

Baresi led the Milan team and its defence for the best part of a decade. During that time, the back four consisting of him, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassotti gained a reputation for being of the meanest defenses in Europe. He is also one of the few players who spent his entire career at one club, AC Milan, for whom he played 719 games, scoring 33 goals. Unconventional for an Italian defender trained in the catenaccio tradition, Baresi was an attacking defender who often assisted the team in counterattacks but without neglecting his defensive duties.

With Milan, Baresi won six scudetti (Serie A league titles) and three European Cups – though he did not take part in the last win, his club's 1994 Champions League victory, through suspension. He mentored defensive partner Paolo Maldini in his later years, whose career subsequently followed a similar path.

After 20 years with Milan, he announced his retirement as a player on 24 June 1997.

His number 6 shirt was retired by the club, a rarity for Italian football.

International

Baresi was selected for three World Cups for Italy, in 1982, 1990 and 1994. Baresi was part of the Euro 1980 and 1982 World Cup squad in Spain as understudy to Gaetano Scirea but did not play.

His international debut came later in 1982 in a match against Romania. He missed the 1986 tournament, coach Enzo Bearzot preferring Juventus centre-halves Cabrini and Gentile, with Scirea in Baresi's position of libero.

Unfortunately for Baresi, his early international career coincided with the peak of Gaetano Scirea's stint as Italy's first choice sweeper, and Baresi was continually left out of the squad. Thus, he refused to play for the national side while Bearzot was in charge, hence his lack of caps prior to the 1990 World Cup. When the Azzuri crashed out to France in the 1986 tournament and Scirea retired, the mantle was passed to Baresi who returned to the side, a responsibility that become more poignant when Scirea was killed in a car accident aged 36, only months before Italy was to host the World Cup. So Baresi made his World Cup debut in 1990. The Azzurri lost to Argentina in the semi-finals, but went on to beat England in the third place play off.

In the 1994 World Cup he came one step closer to lifting the trophy as Italy finished runners-up. Baresi injured himself early in the tournament in the group match against Norway, and after emergency surgery, was able to return for the final against Brazil. Baresi suffered cramp in extra time as the patched-up Italians defended against a tired Brazil to a 0–0 draw after 120 minutes, Romário later attributing his quiet performance to "The most ruthless monitoring of my entire career". Baresi missed the first penalty in the shootout and Italy went on to lose the first World Cup Final to be decided on penalties. Baresi is one of six players to have won all three types of World Cup Medals, having won Gold in 1982, Bronze in 1990 and Silver in 1994. The other five players were from West Germany's squad of 1966–1974, and this record is also closely followed by a select group of players who have won two of the awards (Either Gold and Silver or Gold and Bronze, or Silver and Bronze).

He was also a member of the Italian squad that finished fourth at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

Coaching career

After a short spell as Director of Football at Fulham, Baresi returned to Milan as a youth team coach in 2002. He was appointed head coach of AC Milan's Primavera Under-20 squad. In 2006, he was moved by the club to coach the Berretti Under-19 squad, with his former fellow Filippo Galli replacing him at the helm of the Primavera squad. He retired from coaching and was replaced by Roberto Bertuzzo.

Honours

On 4 March 2004, at a gala ceremony in London, to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international governing body of football revealed the FIFA 100. The list contains choice of the "greatest living footballers", Baresi was one of many from the legendary Milan teams of the 1990s to be included. Baresi is one of the few players who have won all domestic club, international club and national honours, and doing so all with his native country.

• AC Milan
  • UEFA Champions league: 1989, 1990, 1994.
  • Intercontinental Cup: 1989, 1990.
  • European Supercup: 1989, 1990,1994.
  • Italian Championship:1979, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996.
  • Serie B: 1981, 1983
  • Italian Super Cup: 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994.
  • Mitropa Cup: 1982

• Italy:
  • FIFA World Cup: 1982
  • Scania 100 Tournament (Sweden 1991):1991
  • Runners-up FIFA World Cup: 1994
  • Runners-up US Cup:1992
  • 3rd place FIFA World Cup: 1990

Individual honours

• 1989
  • European Silver Ball Footballer of the Year France Football
• 1990
  • Top Scorer Italian Cup : (4 goals) Total (15 goals) Italian Cup.
  • Italian League The best player of the year.
  • Silver in Best world player of the year IFFHS : 1989
• 1999
  • AC Milan player of the Century. His jersey number 6 at Milan has been retired
• 2004
  • Named in FIFA 100
  • Named Italian Player of the 20th Century by FIGC

Statistics

Club	Season	League	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1977/78	Milan	Serie A	1	0	2	0	-	-	-	-	3	0
1978/79			30	0	4	0	6	0	-	-	40	0
1979/80			28	0	6	0	1	0	-	-	35	0
1980/81		Serie B	31	0	4	1	0	0	-	-	35	1
1981/82		Serie A	18	2	4	0	-	-	3	2	25	4
1982/83		Serie B	30	4	9	2	-	-	-	-	39	6
1983/84		Serie A	21	3	9	2	-	-	-	-	30	5
1984/85			26	0	10	0	-		-	-	36	0
1985/86			20	0	4	0	3	0	3	0	30	0
1986/87			29	2	6	3	-		-	-	35	5
1987/88			27	1	6	0	3	0	-	-	36	1
1988/89			33	2	8	2	8	0	1	0	50	4
1989/90			30	1	7	4	8	0	1	0	46	5
1990/91			31	0	1	0	5	0	1	0	38	0
1991/92			33	0	6	1	-	-	-	-	39	1
1992/93			29	0	7	0	8	0	1	0	45	0
1993/94			31	0	-	-	11	0	2	0	44	0
1994/95			28	0	-	-	13	0	2	0	43	0
1995/96			30	1	3	0	7	0	-	-	40	1
1996/97			26	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	30	1
Career totals			532	16	97	15	75	0	15	2	719	33

*European competitions include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, and UEFA Super Cup

Italy national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1982	1	0
1983	3	0
1984	5	0
1985	0	0
1986	3	0
1987	5	0
1988	11	1
1989	10	0
1990	11	0
1991	9	0
1992	7	0
1993	7	0
1994	9	0
Total	81	1

See also

• 1994 UEFA Champions League Final
• One-club man
• unofficial site