Rome, 1 August (LaPresse) – “When I spoke to Franco, I’d stand to attention – he was the Captain. He was a man of few words who rarely smiled. Of the few words that came out of his mouth, he was rarely wrong. He was one of a kind, a legend. When you spoke to him, he gave you this feeling right here.” So said Rino Gattuso, former Milan midfielder and current Lazio manager, on Sportitalia as he remembered Franco Baresi, the Rossoneri icon who passed away yesterday at the age of 66. “He’s gone too soon; he’s gone to join so many other champions. May his soul rest in peace, and he will certainly go down in the history of world football. I agree with those who say he deserves the Ballon d’Or for his career. He was a player who transformed the role of the sweeper: he made it more dynamic, he changed it. When he raised his hand, he was practically a linesman too; he rarely got offside calls wrong. And that’s how I remember him,” he added.
Baresi, Gattuso: ‘We agree he should be awarded the Ballon d’Or for his career’
Rome, 1 August (LaPresse) – “When I spoke to Franco, I’d stand to attention – he was the Captain. He was a man of few words who rarely smiled. Of the few words that came out of his mouth, he was rarely wrong. He was one of a kind, a legend. When you spoke to him, he gave you this feeling right here.” So said Rino Gattuso, former Milan midfielder and current Lazio manager, on Sportitalia as he remembered Franco Baresi, the Rossoneri icon who passed away yesterday at the age of 66. “He’s gone too soon; he’s gone to join so many other champions. May his soul rest in peace, and he will certainly go down in the history of world football. I agree with those who say he deserves the Ballon d’Or for his career. He was a player who transformed the role of the sweeper: he made it more dynamic, he changed it. When he raised his hand, he was practically a linesman too; he rarely got offside calls wrong. And that’s how I remember him,” he added.
