THE PITCH, HIS STAGE | OneFootball

Franco Baresi was at the heart of it - undeniably so - when, 20 years after the Bernabéu, AC Milan were crowned champions of Europe once again, this time not in Madrid but in Barcelona. AC Milan 4-0 Steaua Bucharest (24 May 1989), the European Cup Final at Camp Nou, was yet another night when Baresi ran the defence with flawless tactical precision. His heart and leadership also left their mark - even from the touchline - in AC Milan vs Barcelona (18 May 1994), the Match of the Century.

That was the famous 4-0 triumph in the Champions League Final in Athens. Although AC Milan were forced to change their line-up after Baresi's suspension in the one-legged semi-final at San Siro, his leadership and organisation of the defence against Johan Cruyff's legendary Barcelona side (from within the dugout) remain one of football's greatest tactical masterclasses. Such was his passion, that even after the recent World Cup in the United States, the most iconic image of football in America is still that of Baresi in tears after the penalty shootout in the World Cup Final between Italy and Brazil on 17 July 1994 in Pasadena, California. Franco returned after a remarkable recovery, just 25 days after meniscus surgery, producing a monumental display in which he shut down world-class players such as Romário and Bebeto, coming agonisingly close to lifting the trophy before Italy's defeat on penalties.

HISTORY-SHAPING MOMENTS Franco Baresi was a master of last-ditch defending thanks to his timing, tactical intelligence and perfectly executed sliding tackles. A trademark "Baresi tackle" combined an instinctive ability to anticipate his opponent with an almost scientific reading of space, excelling above all in recovery runs and seamlessly turning defence into attack. Franco seemed to read the flight of the ball before the forwards themselves - partly because he appeared born to do it, but above all because the fire that always burned within him was his determination to protect his beloved AC Milan. An AC Milan supporter only truly realised the team had conceded when they saw Franco's head drop. But then the game would restart, and moments later he'd be flying into another perfectly timed tackle, winning the ball cleanly.

Baresi compensated for his modest stature with flawless positioning. His legendary recovery on Carlos Aguilera during AC Milan's 1-0 win over Torino in December 1993, just days before flying to Japan for the Intercontinental Cup Final against São Paulo, featuring Cafu and Leonardo, remains one of his defining moments. With an extraordinary burst of pace followed by a sliding challenge, the AC Milan captain made up precious ground to divert the ball behind for a corner, preventing what looked like a certain goalscoring opportunity for the Torino striker. With the score still in the balance, Baresi recovered two or three metres on Aguilera through a remarkable acceleration before diving like a hawk to cleanly take the ball from his opponent's feet and send it behind for a corner, to the amazement and admiration of everyone in the stadium.

BATTLES FOR THE AGES: THE LEGENDARY NO. 1Os WHO FACED BARESI Franco Baresi's greatest one-on-one battles came against some of football's finest artists, with the legendary AC Milan and Italy captain regularly facing icons such as Diego Armando Maradona, Michel Platini and Zico. Perhaps his fiercest and most captivating rivalry in Serie A was with Maradona, in the unforgettable meetings between AC Milan and Napoli. The two men embodied the defining battles of those legendary clashes between the Rossoneri and the Partenopei throughout the 1980s - a symbol of a game built on mutual respect, sporting integrity and extraordinary talent. Stopping Diego was never a task Franco could shoulder alone; it almost always required a second defender, or even three or four players working together, combining tactical discipline with firm but fair challenges. Despite the punishment he absorbed during matches, Maradona never complained, and after the final whistle there was always a gesture of mutual respect as the two captains exchanged shirts - a treasured memory for Baresi. In fact, the Pibe de Oro once said that Baresi was "the strongest defender I ever faced. He didn't need to kick you. He'd step in, and the ball I thought I had under control would simply disappear..."

This came after Michel Platini had once warned him: "Just wait until you play against Franco Baresi...". Franco's encounters with Platini also produced some unforgettable contests, their battles throughout the 1980s capturing the very essence of Italian football at the time: mutual respect, fiercely competitive but fair contests, and memorable AC Milan vs Juventus clashes. Baresi himself later admitted that marking players of the calibre of Platini, Maradona and Zico often kept him awake the night before a match. Zico, too, crossed paths with Franco Baresi. The Brazilian genius's intelligence and elegance were met with tight marking and the utmost respect. Players of Zico's quality, both for Brazil and Udinese, were wonderfully unpredictable and demanded absolute concentration from any defender. Yet these contests never lost their sense of sportsmanship: they were true battles on the pitch, always played in a spirit of fair play and mutual admiration.