Franco Baresi

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Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi 2012.jpg
Franco Baresi, 2012
Personnel
birthday May 8, 1960
place of birth Travagliato ,  Italy
size 176 cm
position Defender , Libero
Juniors
Years station
1974-1988 AC Milan
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1978-1997 AC Milan 532 (16)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1979-1982 Italy U-21 10 0(1)
1979-1980 Italy Olympia 6 0(1)
1982-1994 Italy 82 0(1)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
2002-2006 AC Milan (youth coach)
1 Only league games are given.

Franco Baresi (born May 8, 1960 in Travagliato , Italy ) is a former Italian football player and coach .

Baresi is considered one of the best liberos in football history. Due to the similarity of the name and the ability to influence the course of the game so enormously from defense, Baresi was nicknamed Franz in Italy, based on Franz Beckenbauer .

He was active for AC Milan for almost twenty years . The long-time captain was six times Italian champion , won the European Cup and the Champions League three times and made 719 competitive games. He is considered one of the best players to ever wear the Rossoneri jersey . His shirt number 6 has not been awarded to this day due to the merits and loyalty to the club.

In 2004, Pelé put him on the list of the 125 best football players still alive ( FIFA 100 ).

youth

Baresi, who had lost his parents early, grew up with his older brothers in Travagliato on, a small town in the province of Brescia . Not only did he show talent for football, but also his older brother Giuseppe Baresi . When the two Baresis completed a trial training at Inter Milan in 1974 , only Giuseppe received a contract and later completed 559 games for Internazionale and was temporarily team captain . Franco was classified as "physically too weak" and then tried his luck with local rivals AC Milan , who signed him, ultimately ending up with the then far more successful Milan club. He received his further training as a footballer in the youth department of the club.

Career in the club

Franco Baresi and brother Giuseppe during the Derby della Madonnina of the 1979/80 season

Baresi made his debut in professional football on the last day of the 1977/78 season (April 23, 1978, 2-1 win over Hellas Verona ), when coach Nils Liedholm put the 17-year-old on the Libero post. In the following year Baresi had already fought for a regular place in the libero position and in 1979 - after more than ten years - won the championship again with Milan ( Scudetto ). That year he played with Milan's captain and superstar Gianni Rivera , who is now ending his long career.

The following year brought a major setback. Although the Milanese finished third at the end of the season, they were involved with other clubs in the Italian bribery scandal. Together with Lazio AC in which had to Serie B dismount. But Baresi remained loyal to the club, even another season in Serie B (1982/83 season) he accepted and was rewarded with the captaincy. It was not until 1984 that the Rossoneri could re- establish themselves in Serie A. After Arrigo Sacchi became the new coach, Milan went up steeply.

The following decade would be the most successful era in club history. International stars like Marco van Basten , Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard were signed up . This brought the team that won the championship in 1988 back on the road to success. It was the beginning of incredible success. In 1989 and 1990 they sat on the crown of Europe and twice won the European Cup ( 1989 : 4-0 against Steaua Bucharest , 1990 : 1-0 against Benfica Lisbon ).

Baresi was an exceptional sweeper who had one of the best defenses in club football history. In front of him, Alessandro Costacurta , Mauro Tassotti and Paolo Maldini defended , which is why the defense was considered invincible. The Milan offside trap was almost legendary and worked perfectly. In Serie A, AC Milan was a force. In 1991/92 the club remained undefeated, in 1993/94 they conceded only 15 goals and won the third Scudetto in a row.

Milan was also the best club team internationally and in the early 1990s it was the “non-plus-ultra” of European football. Within seven years, the team reached the final of the European Cup and Champions League five times . As in the final in 1994 the FC Barcelona 4: 0 was outclassed, but Baresi was sitting because of a yellow card suspension in the stands ( 1993 0: 1 against Olympique Marseille , 1995 0: 1 against Ajax Amsterdam ). The experienced Baresi was the head of this legendary team under Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello . The extended arm of the coach on the field was not responsible for breathtaking offensive actions, but rather the calm pole of the incredibly stable defense. In 1996 he won his sixth league title with Milan before ending his big and long career a year later. The club and the players have seldom been so closely linked as Baresi and the AC. Paolo Maldini was declared his successor as captain and head of defense .

As a token of appreciation, AC Milan announced that they would no longer sell their number 6 jersey. Franco Baresi wore the AC Milan jersey in 716 games, holding the club record for years: 470 games in Serie A , 61 games in Serie B, 97 appearances in the Coppa Italia , five in the Italian Super Cup and 83 appearances in European club competitions ( UEFA Champions League , UEFA Cup, etc.) are available.

Career in the national team

In the national team , Baresi had to wait a long time for the breakthrough. Although he was already on the squad at the 1980 European Championship in Italy , the 1980/81 Mundialito in Uruguay and the 1982 World Cup , he was not used except for one game at the Mundialito. This was particularly bitter in 1982, as Italy became world champions and Baresi was not allowed to play a single minute in the tournament. His first assignment in the " Squadra Azzurra " he had on December 4, 1982 in the 0-0 in the European Championship qualifier against Romania . A regular place was a long way off, however, as coach Enzo Bearzot built on Libero Gaetano Scirea and Baresi used in defensive midfield, where he could not cope.

Since Baresi went into the second division twice with AC Milan, he was no longer considered for the national team and also not nominated for the 1986 World Cup squad . In contrast to his brother Giuseppe, who played three games at the tournament in Mexico . Franco Baresi only returned to the "Squadra" on October 8, 1986 in the first game after Enzo Bearzot and from then on played as a Libero. At the European Championship in 1988 in the FRG , when Italy was only eliminated in the semifinals against the USSR (0-2), Baresi established himself as a libero in the national team. The way he knocked his passports out of the ankle was reminiscent of Franz Beckenbauer and earned him the nickname "Franz".

In 1990 Italy hosted the World Cup and the country aimed to win the title at home. Italy were sovereign group winners and survived them without conceding a goal. The defense with Libero Baresi and the defenders Giuseppe Bergomi , Paolo Maldini and Riccardo Ferri was the strongest of the entire tournament. Baresi was in the shape of his life and with that formidable defense Italy made it to the semi-finals without conceding. There you met defending champion Argentina , and after 120 minutes it was 1: 1. The decision was brought about on penalties , with the South Americans holding the upper hand 4: 3 (Baresi had converted to 0: 1). Italy eventually finished third after beating England 2-1 and Baresi was elected to the All-Star team. Although Baresi had announced his resignation from the national team after the tournament, he soon revised his decision, returned under Arrigo Sacchi and became the new captain.

In 1994 Baresi drove to his third world championship in the USA . But in the second game of the preliminary round (1-0 win over Norway ), the captain had to be replaced after 48 minutes due to a knee injury. Everyone expected the “oldie” to be eliminated from the World Cup, but Baresi played in the final against Brazil . Baresi held the defense together for 120 minutes until the penalty shoot-out before he put the first shot over the goal. After misses by Daniele Massaro and Roberto Baggio , Brazil were world champions. Again, a penalty shoot-out meant the end of Baresi's dream of the title.

This 1994 World Cup final was Baresi's penultimate appearance for his home country, after which he played his last game in the national jersey against Slovenia on September 7, 1994 and finally resigned from the Squadra Azzurra after 82 international games .

After the active career

After his active career, Baresi held various positions at Milan as a youth coach, scout and manager. In 2002 he took over the post of sports director at Fulham FC , but returned to Milan after only two months, as he was not given enough room for maneuver. Since 2008 he has been working in the marketing department for AC Milan .

successes

AC Milan

National team

Personal awards

Web links

Commons : Franco Baresi  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Ahrens: Defending champion curse in Champions League: Milan's Wall . In: Spiegel Online . June 2, 2017 ( spiegel.de [accessed September 30, 2018]).
personal data
SURNAME Baresi, Franco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian soccer player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH May 8, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Travagliato