Milan mourns Baresi as region reflects on football's passing era

Thousands of people gathered outside a Milan church Tuesday to pay tribute to Italian football great Franco Baresi, who died last week aged 66, the Local Italy reported. The following day, mourners lined the streets of Milan for the funeral of the legendary former AC Milan and Italy defender, according to the BBC.

For the Veneto, Baresi's passing carries a resonance beyond the city of Milan. Born in the Lombard province of Brescia, he belonged to a generation of northern Italian footballers whose careers were defined by a single club — a model of loyalty that has largely vanished from the modern game, where players move between clubs and leagues with increasing frequency.

The scenes in Milan — thousands gathering in the heat to honour a defender — speak to a cultural attachment to football that remains potent across the north-east, where local clubs and their histories are woven into the fabric of towns and cities. Baresi's AC Milan, the club he served for two decades, has long drawn supporters from across the Veneto, and his funeral became an occasion for the entire region to reflect on the sport's changing character.