🗣️ Panucci spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport: Panucci, which WhatsApp message from Baresi means the most to you?
"We used to call and text each other often, but I'll never forget the message he sent me on April 12, 2023, for my 50th birthday.
'Dear Christian, you're 50 now, but you still have the spirit of a 20-year-old. Happy birthday.'
And then there's the last message I sent him... the one he never replied to because he was already ill." (Panucci becomes emotional.)
“Size bir anımı anlatayım.
Milli takımdan ilk davetimi 21 yaşındayken Arrigo Sacchi döneminde, 1994 Dünya Kupası öncesinde aldım.
Bir gün yemek masasına geldim. Karşımda Franco Baresi ve Roberto Mancini gibi isimler oturuyordu.
Tek kelime edemiyordum.
Bir ara Beppe Signori bana dönüp,
“Franco’ya söylesene, tuzu uzatsın.” dedi.
İçimden,
“Ben ona gerçekten ‘Franco’ diyebilir miyim?” diye geçirdim.
Sonunda dönüp sadece,
“Affedersiniz, tuzu uzatır mısınız?” diyebildim.
İnanın şaka yapmıyorum. 21 yaşındaydım ve Franco Baresi’ne adıyla hitap etmeye cesaret edemiyordum.
İşte bu, o büyük beyefendilerin sahip olduğu karizmanın ne kadar güçlü olduğunu anlatmaya yeter.” — Luigi Di Biagio
✅ 719 games for #ACMilan
📅 20 seasons, 15 as captain
🇮🇹 81 caps for Italy
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Serie A
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Supercoppa Italiana
🏆🏆🏆 Champions League
🏆🏆 UEFA Super Cup
🏆🏆 Intercontinental Cup
🏆 World Cup
👏 Legendary, in every sense. ❤️🖤
📸 Kaka on Instagram 💔🖤
A captain who taught generations what it truly means to wear this shirt, becoming the ultimate one-club icon.
Franco Baresi's legacy will live on forever in the history of football. Today, the game has lost one of its greatest examples of loyalty, class and leadership.
Thank you for everything, Capitano No. 6. Forever. ❤️🖤
🗣️ Giuseppe Bergomi spoke to @MilanNewsit: "I have so many memories of Franco, but I'll start with the last one. We carried the Olympic torch together. During the rehearsals he told me he was tired and asked me to do them alone. On the day itself, despite already battling illness, he stayed at San Siro for six hours. He told me, 'I'm not wearing the earpiece, you did the rehearsals,' and I replied, 'Come with me, Franco.'"
🗣️ Giuseppe Bergomi spoke to @MilanNewsit: "When Franco organised his farewell match, he insisted that I be there. I joked that the Milan fans would whistle me because I was an Inter player, but he wanted me anyway. That shows the respect we had for each other we had known one another since we were kids."
📸 Inzaghi on Instagram 🔴⚫️
Many years ago, in Parma, I had the privilege of playing against you. I was wearing No. 16, and I didn't even get on the pitch that day.
After the match, I asked you for your shirt. You looked at me and said:
"But aren't you going to give me yours?"
Such a simple sentence, yet it stayed with me throughout my entire career.
From that day on, every time a player asked for my shirt, I asked for theirs too—just as you did with me. ❤️
May your spirit and charisma continue to inspire all of us, and the captains of tomorrow.
Goodbye, Franco. Thank you. Forever. ❤️🖤