Vicenza, July 31, 2026 – “So much pain and so much sadness. Goodbye Captain.” With few words, full of emotion, Roberto Baggio entrusted his last farewell to Franco Baresi, the historic captain of Milan and the Italian National Team, who passed away today at the age of 66. The message from the “Divine Ponytail” immediately moved thousands of fans. In a few hours, the post gathered over 47,300 likes and thousands of comments, in which football enthusiasts, former teammates, and supporters remembered one of the greatest defenders in the history of Italian football.
The photo together with the National Team jersey
Accompanying the message is a photograph capturing Baggio and Baresi wearing the Italian National Team jersey. The two stand side by side on the pitch during an Azzurri match: a symbolic image that tells the bond built over the years, sharing the most important challenges of their careers with the blue jersey.
The United States World Cup
Roberto Baggio and Franco Baresi wrote some of the most intense pages in the history of the Italian National Team, especially sharing the journey at the 1994 United States World Cup.
That tournament represented the highest point of their shared journey. Baggio led the Azzurri with decisive goals from the round of 16 to the semifinals, while Baresi experienced a true ordeal: he suffered a serious meniscus injury during the match against Norway and seemed to have prematurely ended his World Cup.
Franco Baresi
Instead, the captain managed to accomplish what is still considered a small sporting miracle. After knee surgery, he recovered in just 25 days and returned to the field for the final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against Brazil, delivering an extraordinary performance despite his precarious physical condition.
The missed penalties
The final on July 17, 1994 remains one of the most painful images in the history of Italian football. After a 0-0 draw in regular and extra time, the title was decided by penalty kicks. Both Baresi and Baggio missed from the spot, with the famous high shot from number 10 handing the World Cup to the Brazilians. A bitter ending that, however, never erased the value of that National Team and its protagonists.
Side by side at Milan
Their relationship continued also at club level. In the summer of 1995, Roberto Baggio left Juventus to move to Milan, where he reunited with Franco Baresi, already a symbol and flag of the Rossoneri.
The two shared the locker room for two seasons, from 1995 to 1997. In the first year, led by Fabio Capello, they won the 1995-96 Scudetto, with Baresi still the leader of the defense and Baggio among the most talented players on the team.
Baresi’s retirement announcement
The following season marked the end of the extraordinary career of the Milan captain. At the end of the 1996-97 championship, Baresi announced his retirement from professional football and Milan decided to retire the historic number 6 jersey, a tribute reserved for legends. Around the same time, Baggio also said goodbye to the club to start a new adventure at Bologna.
A relationship built over time
The message published today by Roberto Baggio testifies to a relationship built over time, made of shared battles, victories, disappointments, and mutual respect. From the blue jersey to the Rossoneri seasons, Baresi and Baggio represented two symbols of Italian football in the nineties.
The friendship between two champions
And precisely that photograph chosen by Baggio, showing them together in the National Team uniform, takes on an even deeper meaning today: the memory of two champions who went through some of the most intense moments in the history of Italian football together and of a friendship that time has not erased.
