THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY
THE DEATH
Franco Baresi died on 31 July 2026, aged 66. No cause of death has been released. AC Milan have retired his number 6.
THE REJECTION
Baresi supported Inter, and his brother Giuseppe played for them, but Inter turned him down as a teenager as too small and told him to come back in a year. He joined Milan's youth set-up in 1974, aged 14.
ONE CLUB
719 official games for Milan over 20 seasons, 15 as captain. He followed the club into Serie B twice and turned down Juventus. Three European Cups, six Serie A titles, a 1982 World Cup winner at 22 without playing a minute, second in the 1989 Ballon d'Or behind teammate Marco van Basten, and Milan's Player of the Century in a 1999 fan vote.
1994
He tore a meniscus against Norway, then played the full 120 minutes of the World Cup final against Brazil 25 days after surgery (sources give 24 to 25) and missed his penalty. History blames Baggio's miss. Baresi missed first.
MORE FROM CAREER PATH
THE TERRACES — DISCUSSION
The argument also lives in the YouTube comments ↗.