Franco Baresi, one of the greatest defenders in football history and the emblematic captain of AC Milan, died on July 31 at the age of 66 after a long battle with illness. AC Milan confirmed his death in a social media post on the morning of Friday, July 31.
Baresi had been dealing with serious health problems and had undergone surgery to remove a tumor from his lung approximately a year before his death. Italian media had reported his passing in the days before the official announcement, but AC Milan initially denied the reports. The club made it official on the morning of July 31.
In its announcement, AC Milan said that all of the club's history was shaken by Baresi's passing. The club said his example and integrity would remain forever part of its DNA, as would his iconic number 6 shirt, and expressed condolences to his family that it said were shared by all the Rossoneri, who were experiencing the loss as their own.
His last public appearance came several months before his death, at a packed San Siro during the opening ceremony of the Milan Winter Olympics, an event of global reach that Italian media said he helped make unforgettable. He carried the Olympic Flame into the stadium, accompanied by Beppe Bergomi, on February 6, 2026.
A lifetime in red and black
Baresi was born in May 1960 and grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Travagliato, a small town in northern Italy. He did not watch football on television until he was 10 years old.
He spent his entire 20-year career at AC Milan, serving as captain of the side for more than 15 years. During that time he won three European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, six Serie A trophies, four Supercoppa Italiana titles, two European Super Cups and two Intercontinental Cups. In Italy he is described as a football god and regarded as the defining example of the Italian approach to the game.
When he first broke into the Milan first team as a young player, he was given the nickname Piscinin, Milanese dialect for little one. As his technical ability and honours grew, he became known as Kaiser Franz, a reference to fellow sweeper Franz Beckenbauer.
In 1999 he was voted AC Milan's Player of the Century. After his final season in 1997, the club retired his number 6 shirt. In 2004, Pele named him one of the 125 greatest footballers in history at the FIFA centenary awards ceremony. He was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
World Cup glory and shootout heartbreak
With the Italian national team, Baresi was part of the squad that won the 1982 World Cup, Italy's first such triumph in 44 years. He also played at the 1990 World Cup on home soil, where he was named in the tournament's best XI as the Azzurri finished third.
At the 1994 World Cup, he was appointed Italy's captain. The team reached the final, but Baresi missed a penalty in the decisive shootout, with Brazil claiming the trophy.
He also represented Italy at two UEFA European Championships, in 1980 and 1988, and at the 1984 Olympic Games, reaching the semi-finals on each occasion.
