♾️ Franco, 6 forever: farewell to Milan's eternal captain ❤️🖤 | OneFootball

There are players who make a club’s history. And then there are those who end up becoming one with its colors. Franco Baresi belongs to the second category. For Milan, he was not just a captain or one of the greatest defenders of all time: he became the symbol of an entire era. On August 4, in the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, the final farewell to the Rossoneri legend.

🔴⚫️ The early years at Milan and the captain’s armband

His story in red and black began with pain. Raised at Unione Sportiva Oratorio di Travagliato, he lost both parents at just 14 and found in football something to hold on to. As a boy he supported Inter, but the Nerazzurri rejected him. Milan, on the other hand, decided to place their faith in that boy nicknamed 'Piscinin.' It was 1974, and the beginning of a story destined to become legend.

His Serie A debut came in 1978 under Nils Liedholm. The following year he was among the key figures in the club’s star-scudetto triumph and earned the trust of everyone around him, so much so that he received Gianni Rivera’s blessing. At just 22, he became captain: an armband that would end up being identified with him.

📸 KAZUHIRO NOGI

His loyalty was immediately put to the test. He lived through both of Milan’s relegations to Serie B, first after the Totonero scandal and then in 1982, while also overcoming a serious illness that forced him to stop for months. Despite the offers, he always chose to stay. That same year he also became part of Italy’s World Cup-winning squad in Spain, even though he did not take the field.

🆕 The new era with Berlusconi and Sacchi

The rebirth came with the arrival of Silvio Berlusconi and above all Arrigo Sacchi. Football changed, and Baresi became the perfect leader of the Rossoneri revolution. As sweeper, he led a team that interpreted zonal marking, pressing, and building from the back in an innovative way, earning the nickname 'Kaiser' like Beckenbauer. "I was only the sweeper," he would say years later. "It was all of us: Sacchi, Capello and the team. We were Milan."

With Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard, he launched one of the most successful cycles in the club’s history: the 1988 scudetto and the European Cups of 1989 and 1990 arrived. Emblematic was the European semi-final against Real Madrid, crushed 5-0 at San Siro. "We dominated in every aspect," Baresi recalled in his book Libero di sognare. "We felt invincible." A few days later, in Barcelona, Milan beat Steaua Bucharest 4-0 and the captain lifted the European Cup twenty years after the triumph of Rocco and Rivera’s team.

🎖️ Captain of the 'invincibles' under Capello

Under Fabio Capello, the dominance continued. Milan became even more solid, went unbeaten in the league for 58 straight matches and set a record of 929 minutes without conceding a goal. Another four scudetti in five seasons followed, along with a Champions League, a European Super Cup and three Italian Super Cups. Baresi remained the reference point of a team that kept winning without ever losing its identity. 

📸 Claudio Villa - 2012 Getty Images

Capello himself, speaking to Sky Sport, remembered him like this: “It’s a great emotion, I’m finding it very hard even to speak. They are memories of a player, of a man, of a person who deserves a great tribute from everyone. A great memory. I saw him make his Serie A debut, play alongside him, and then I had the good fortune to coach him. So I came to know player Baresi and man Baresi from various points of view.”

🎥 Milan’s tribute in Australia in front of the number 6

After the news of Franco Baresi’s passing, the team wanted to pay tribute to him from Perth, where they are on tour between Asia and Australia. The Rossoneri, together with Amorim, observed a minute of silence in memory of Piscinin. 

These were the words of Milan owner Gerry Cardinale: "Today the Rossoneri family mourns the passing of the great Franco Baresi. For generations, Franco embodied the values, character and excellence that define this Club. Even in the last year, while facing his greatest challenge, he was always by Milan’s side, silently reminding us what it means to represent these colors. Franco’s legacy is profound and will endure forever. Our thoughts are with his family and with all those whose lives he touched."

♾️ 6 FOREVER

When he brought his career to a close, his honors list spoke for itself: six scudetti, three European Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, four European Super Cups and two Italian Super Cups. In 1989 he also came close to winning the Ballon d’Or, proving that a defender could become an absolute protagonist of world football.

But the trophies tell only part of his story. Franco Baresi lived through the Milan of Liedholm, Sacchi and Capello, sharing the pitch with champions such as Rivera, Maldini and Van Basten, while never ceasing to represent the soul of the team. It is no coincidence that the fans voted him the greatest player in Rossoneri history and the club retired the number 6 shirt forever.

Because some careers are remembered. Franco Baresi’s, instead, became Milan. "6 forever, Franco".

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 JUNJI KUROKAWA - AFP or licensors