Milan bids farewell to Baresi, a defender who defined an era

Milan came to a standstill on Tuesday as thousands of mourners lined the streets for the funeral of Franco Baresi, the legendary AC Milan and Italy defender who died last week at the age of 66, according to the BBC. The service was held at the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio, where former teammates and huge crowds gathered to pay their respects, the Guardian reported in a photo gallery documenting the occasion.

Baresi, widely regarded as one of the finest defenders in the history of the game, spent his entire professional career at AC Milan, winning six Serie A titles and three European Cups. His death has prompted an outpouring of grief across Italian football, with the funeral drawing figures from across the sport and the city's wider public life.

The scenes in Milan recalled the deep bond between the city and its footballing icons, a relationship that the foreign press has long noted as central to Italy's sporting identity. The Guardian's coverage, headlined 'Ciao capitano', captured the scale of the public mourning.

Baresi's career coincided with one of the most successful periods in AC Milan's history, under the ownership of Silvio Berlusconi and the management of Arrigo Sacchi and later Fabio Capello. His leadership at the heart of the defence was credited with anchoring a team that dominated Italian and European football through the late 1980s and early 1990s, a run that foreign observers often cite as a benchmark for defensive excellence.

The funeral at Sant'Ambrogio, one of Milan's oldest and most significant churches, drew former teammates from those great sides, though the BBC did not specify which individuals attended. The Guardian's gallery, published on Tuesday, showed the scale of the public turnout, with crowds gathered outside the basilica to honour a player who never left the club he joined as a teenager.

For the wider Italian game, Baresi's death marks the passing of a figure whose career bridged eras — from the defensive catenaccio traditions to the modern, more expansive style that Sacchi's Milan pioneered. His international career with Italy included a World Cup final appearance in 1994, where he missed a penalty in the shootout against Brazil, a moment that remains part of his complex legacy.

The mourning in Milan has also drawn attention to the city's football culture, which the foreign press has often portrayed as distinct for its intensity and loyalty. As the BBC noted, thousands gathered on the streets, a turnout that reflects the esteem in which Baresi was held not only as a player but as a symbol of a club and a city.