Milan, 31 July (LaPresse) – “I knew he had some health issues, but I never imagined they were this serious. He made his debut whilst I was captain at Milan, and he went on to become captain himself. Above all, he was a great player and a wonderful person.” This is how Gianni Rivera, a Milan legend, remembered Franco Baresi – who passed away today at the age of 66 – in a telephone interview with LaPresse. When he arrived at Milan as a young lad, “you could see he had great qualities; otherwise, they would never have given him his debut.” “He started very young, just as I had started very young, so I realised he had great qualities. It wasn’t that easy to play in that position, but he made the most of it,” said Rivera. On the legacy Baresi leaves behind, Rivera added: “I don’t know what the situation is now because with the Americans you never know anything, so I can’t quite grasp what the future might hold with players like myself back then, followed by Baresi, and then Maldini too.” Baresi was also one of the last true icons – those players who have linked their name to a single club. “I’d say so; he too stayed there his whole life as a footballer,” recalled Rivera.
Baresi’s death: Rivera: “I recognised his qualities straight away; he was Milan’s captain after me”
Milan, 31 July (LaPresse) – “I knew he had some health issues, but I never imagined they were this serious. He made his debut whilst I was captain at Milan, and he went on to become captain himself. Above all, he was a great player and a wonderful person.” This is how Gianni Rivera, a Milan legend, remembered Franco Baresi – who passed away today at the age of 66 – in a telephone interview with LaPresse. When he arrived at Milan as a young lad, “you could see he had great qualities; otherwise, they would never have given him his debut.” “He started very young, just as I had started very young, so I realised he had great qualities. It wasn’t that easy to play in that position, but he made the most of it,” said Rivera. On the legacy Baresi leaves behind, Rivera added: “I don’t know what the situation is now because with the Americans you never know anything, so I can’t quite grasp what the future might hold with players like myself back then, followed by Baresi, and then Maldini too.” Baresi was also one of the last true icons – those players who have linked their name to a single club. “I’d say so; he too stayed there his whole life as a footballer,” recalled Rivera.
