Mourners line streets of Milan for legend Baresi's funeral

Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Milan on Tuesday for the funeral of legendary defender Franco Baresi. The 66‑year‑old died last week after a bout of illness. Widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in football history, Baresi captained AC Milan for 15 seasons, making 719 appearances and scoring 33 goals. During his time with the Rossoneri he collected 18 trophies: six Serie A titles, three European Cups/Champions Leagues, four Italian Super Cups, three UEFA Super Cups and two Club World Cups. He earned 81 caps for Italy and was a member of the squad that won the 1982 World Cup; he also captained the side in the 1994 final, which Italy lost to Brazil. In 2020 Baresi was named honorary president of AC Milan, and his number six shirt was retired after his playing career ended. The funeral service took place at Sant’Ambrogio Basilica and was attended by former greats Paolo Maldini, Marco van Basten, Clarence Seedorf, Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Costacurta. Although the current AC Milan squad is in Australia on a pre‑season tour, several first‑team players not involved in the trip attended the service, including United States forward Christian Pulisic. AC Milan announced it will pay tribute to their former captain ahead of their friendly against Inter on Wednesday.