Franco Baresi

Constantly charged with a nervous, electric energy, Franco Baresi stood tall despite his modest height and is widely regarded as one of the greatest central defenders ever to play the game. A precocious talent, he was rejected by Inter in his youth for being considered too slight, in favor of his older and more physically developed brother Giuseppe. F ranco would go on to have an extraordinary career, becoming a symbol of AC Milan like very few others. Initially a world-class sweeper, he dominated matches with interventions of remarkable timing and precision, launched play with long passes, and often stepped out of the defensive line to advance through central channels and get closer to the heart of the game. In that phase, despite his exceptional early talent, he was overlooked for the national team in favor of Scirea, certainly no ordinary player, as Enzo Bearzot preferred someone deemed more experienced and mature. With the advent of zonal marking, Baresi was no longer a sweeper and transformed into an incredible central defender, forming alongside Galli, later Costacurta, Maldini, and Tassotti a defensive unit considered, from a defensive standpoint, the greatest in history. Franco was a courageous captain who organized the defensive line with perfect positioning, combining speed, relentless concentration, extraordinary reactions, quickness of both leg and mind, and a proud, fearless spirit, as shown in the 1994 World Cup final, when he recovered in a record 25 days from a torn meniscus in his right knee and returned in time for the final, where he neutralized a certain Romário. His twenty-year career with Milan took him to the top of Italy and the world, winning everything there was to win, often as a key figure, while with the national team, much like Maldini, he did not win a major trophy as a protagonist, despite being part of the 1982 World Cup squad, where he remained a reserve behind Scirea and never took the field.