Full Name
Franco Baresi
Position
Centre Back/Sweeper
Born
08 May 1960
Country
Italy
Clubs
AC Milan (Italy)
Professional Career
1977-1997
International Caps/Goals
81 caps/1 goals
Honours
6 Serie A Scudetto (AC Milan)
3 European Cup (AC Milan)
2 Intercontinental Cup (AC Milan)
1982 World Cup (Italy)
One-club legend Franco Baresi was rejected by Inter Milan during his early days. He joined rival AC Milan in 1977, and little did Inter knew, Baresi went on to become one of the greatest Italian defenders ever. Playing for twenty seasons, Baresi accumulated 629 appearances for AC Milan, winning an amazing six Italian titles and three European Cups. A rock in the defence, his legendary status was completed when his jersey number 6 was retired by AC Milan in 1997.
At international level, Baresi was a regular for Italy and was involved in three World Cups. He was part of the World Cup winning team in 1982 although he did not play a single game. In the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, Baresi faced the world’s best strikers in Diego Maradona and Romario respectively. Unfortunately, he could not prevent Italy from being knocked out of the tournament by Argentina and Brazil.
Best 100 Footballers in the World 