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Today’s Papers – Italy pays tribute to Baresi
Aug 01 2026 10:48 · By onefootball.com · 22 Reads
Italian football is in mourning, and on Saturday its three great sports dailies handed their front pages over entirely to Franco Baresi, the Milan and Italy legend who died on Friday aged 66.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the country has lost “a giant.” Beneath a photograph of Baresi lifting the European Cup, the pink paper leads with “Mio Capitano”, “My Captain”, recalling how the boy nicknamed “il Piscinin” grew into a colossus who won everything and stood by his Milan even through their relegation to Serie B.
Inside, tributes and interviews pour in from those who knew him best, among them former coach Fabio Capello, ex-team-mate Christian Panucci and Rossoneri great Gianni Rivera, alongside columns from the likes of Luigi Garlando and Beppe Bergomi.
Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport salute Baresi’s No. 6
Corriere dello Sport: Strikes a similar chord with “6 per sempre”, “Six forever”, a nod to the shirt number Milan retired in his honour. Under the line “Addio capitano,” the paper hails “elegance become legend” and reports that Italian football is “in tears,” having “lost a beat of our heart.”
It traces the arc of a life defined by 21 trophies, from the 1982 World Cup to three European Cups under Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello, and carries the words of long-time defensive partner Alessandro Costacurta, who recalled how Baresi “knew how to lead you through his conduct.”
Turin’s Tuttosport keeps it simple: “Un capitano,” above the dates 1960-2026 and another image of Baresi and the European Cup. Its tributes reach beyond the trophies to the moments that defined the man, the courage of his tearful stand at Pasadena in the 1994 World Cup final, and the 39 red roses he laid in memory of the Heysel victims, “from a champion of humanity.”
The papers also carry the details of a nation’s farewell. Baresi’s funeral will be held on Tuesday 4 August at 11am at the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, with the Rossoneri squad unable to attend as they are away on their pre-season tour. FIGC president Giovanni Malagò has ordered a minute’s silence before every friendly played in Italy this weekend.