AC Milan’s legend: Franco Baresi interview PART I

If you need a head boy for the school of defending, Franco Baresi is probably your man. Wiry, rock hard and blessed with a disconcerting likeness to top Fender bender Mark Knopfler, Baresi was not as brutal as Gentile, nor as elegant as Scirea or Maldini, but he was the greatest antidote to the art of goal scoring the Itolian gome has ever produced. At least, until Luca Toni come along.

As anyone watching the game in the '80s and '90s will recall Baresi was inexorable Arm permanently held aloft like some footballing Caesar, he’d roam Milan and Italy's backline, arriving at the right spot bang on time to defuse any threat. As he puts it, he was "fast in the head". No one read the game like Franco, and no one organised a backline like him either; whether aligning coverage or marshalling his troops forward to spring the offside trap so beloved of Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan, the libero never seemed to put a foot wrong throughout his 20 years at the club.

As 5ft 10in you were relatively small for a control defender - did this make you work harder on your game?

I think my strong point was never my physique. I was a pretty fast player, but above all I was fast up here, in the head (taps head). That's what helped me a lot.

Is that something that con be taught?

Sadly not. Of course you con improve it, you can grow with experience, but it’s a natural thing.

Who were your heroes growing up?

Well, I was always a Milanista. And it was my great fortune to always play for Milan. At the start I liked [Gianni] Rivera, who I came to know and admire from up close. I even got the chance to play with him, which was a stroke of luck; he was at the end of his career, and I was at the beginning. Then I also liked players like [Pierino] Prati, [Roberto] Boninsegno, and [Gigi] Riva - all great champions.

But these are all forwards or midfietd players.

Oh.Well, defenders. I liked people like Rudi Krol - that kind of elegant, considered defender, who liked to play football as well as defend.

You were rejected by Inter as a teenager, while your brother was taken on. How did this make you feel? Did it make you even more determined to succeed?

No, what happened was that my brother was already with Inter - he’s older than me. I wanted to follow him so I had a trial first with Inter, and they said, "Well, come bock next year". But my coach took me to Milan, and there I was accepted, although it took a couple of trials. They were worried about my size; that I wouldn't grow much or toughen up. I was only 14 at the time.

Has the rivalry between Milan and Inter ever caused any problems or animasity between you ond your brother?

Oh no. No. absolutely not! [Laughs]. No between us there was lots of friendship and a mutual esteem. No problems.

Now did the early passing of your parents mould you as a character substitute family for you?

Well, we had to roll up our sleeves and grow up quickly. My brother ond I both wanted to make something of ourselves through this sport that we some luck and some help, but above all, our character helped us a lot in this. And yes, Milan became like o second family to me -I used to spend all my free time with them.

As someone who was a ‘one-club man’, ore you disappointed by the apparent lack of loyalty shown by players these days?

No. these are different times. These days there are far more presses and interests in football, far more opportunities to change, so it's unlikely well see onother Maldini who sticks around for 20 years. You can’t compare those days with now.

I heard that when you were In Milan's youth team you used to hide to avoid bumping into senior players like Albertosi, Rivera and Morini. Why was that? Did they ever beat you up or steal your lunch money?

[Laughs] No! I was shy though. At the start, when I was just 14, and i saw all the big Milan stars, they seemed like... from another planet. But I didn’t hide. I did try and avoid crossing their paths, just because they seemed untouchable, unapproachable.

Later, when were a senior player, did you see youngsters taking the same line with you?

Well, yes, a few years back there may have been some nervous youngsters, but not now. These days, they're not shy at all. Kids now are much more switched on and mature than we used to be.

You became Milan captain at 22. What was the hardest part about being such a young skipper? Did any older players give you any problems and how did you deal with it?

I didn't have problems. It was unusual to become captain so early, but it was an unusual situation; Milan in 1982 got sent down to Serie B. so they made me captain straightaway. They wanted to rebuild the side and base it around me.

You refused to play at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986 in protest at not playing a part four years earlier, wfien Italy won the competition. Was that the sole reason? Looking back, do you feel you were being unreasonable?

No. (the then Italian manager Enzo) Bearzot didn't call me up. There was a technical question - we had different points of view. Back then he wanted to use me as a midfielder, and i didn't feel at ease with that after so long playing at the back, so he picked someone else. Do you regret it now? Well, even if I’d gone, I wouldn’t have played. My choice would have been to be either the reserve for Scirea or a midfielder. I always respected Bearzot, though: he was one of the greats, and I'm grateful to him because it was he who gave me my start internationally.

Many consider the Milan defence of yourself, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassotti to be one of the best backlines in history. Where do you feel it ranks compared to other great defences; for example, the Arsenal back four in the 1990s?

[Baresi has to have the Arsenal reference explained to him. Afterwards, he replies with a knowing twinkle in his eye] Oh! Well, they were better than that Milan line of ours! We were more like a bunch of Brazilians! So who would you pick as the best backline then? A different group: Juve’s line up of the early '80s - [Antonio] Cabrini, [Claudio] Gentile, [Gaetano] Scirea. They had a completely different style and all won the World Cup with Italy in 1982.

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