Talking about him cannot be limited to descriptions or the recounting of trophies won, performances, victories, or even defeats. For this reason, we want to rely on the words of someone who saw him and lived alongside him for most of his long 20 years at Milan—Adriano Galliani:
"Franco Baresi won the Scudetto with the star, stayed in Serie B, and never wanted to leave. Something like that can no longer happen. A shirt that became a second skin."
From 1977 to 1997, Baresi is the second most-capped player in Milan's history, only Paolo Maldini has more. He is included in the FIFA 100 and the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Rossoneri fans even voted him Milanista of the Century, a reflection of the deep emotion and sense of belonging that Matteo Marani described this way:
"A love that Kaiser Franz certainly earned through loyalty and consistently high performance over time. After that debut season, crowned with the Rossoneri star, he stayed to fight and battle in the purgatory of Serie B, never retreating a single step."
Today, May 8, 2025, Baresi turns 65 and remains one of the highest symbols of Milanismo—a concept and a legend passed down from generation to generation, so much so that even the youngest Rossoneri fans can't help but know his name. But not only them—even his opponents felt a sense of respect and reverence toward a player who revolutionized the role of the defender.
Jorge Valdano, a Real Madrid legend, described him this way:
"His teammates blindly obeyed his authority, and to his rivals, he revealed the wise rules of football on the page about offside. ‘I am a liberated libero,’ Baresi told France Football. True. Real Madrid players say Milan's opponents didn’t look at them or the ball—they looked only at Baresi. That’s how you respect a true leader. They also say that with every offside trap he triggered, he would smile."
Even today, Rossoneri fans long for the return of such a symbol—for a player who makes the Rossoneri shirt feel like a second skin. Who knows if such a figure will ever come again, or if modern football, which Baresi himself helped revolutionize, still has room for that kind of old-school romanticism. In the meantime, everything related to Baresi—like Maldini—continues to point the way toward making Milan great once again, as relayed via PianetaMilan.it.
