4 of the Best Moments of Franco Baresi's Career

Franco Baresi is number 16 in 90min'sTop 50 Greatest Footballers of All Time series

Serie A's and AC Milan's 'Player of the 20th Century'; Franco Baresi wasn't a half-bad footballer.

A loyal libero who spent his entire 20-year career with the Rossoneri, Baresi became a leading figure in Arrigo Sacchi's revolution at San Siro before establishing himself as the beating heart in Fabio Capello's all-conquering Milan teams of the 1990s - one of the most dominant club sides we've ever seen.

The similarities to German icon Franz Beckenbauer were uncanny; Baresi had the defensive attributes to be outright dominant, but his ball-playing ability and the elegance at which he strolled about the pitch meant no one had ever made the art of defending look so bloody easy.

The Italian was possibly the greatest defender of all time, and here are four of the best moments from his remarkable career.

Maiden Scudetto Triumph, 1978/79

Il #23aprile 1978 Franco Baresi debutta in Serie A. Da quel giorno niente sarà più come prima, soprattutto per il Milan e i suoi tifosi. Con lui in campo arrivano 6 scudetti, 3 Coppe Campioni, 2 Coppe Intercontinentali, 3 Supercoppe europee e 4 Supercoppe italiane. Una leggenda pic.twitter.com/qo3vlCQsIf
— Il Cuoio (@IlCuoioedi) April 23, 2019

Rejected by Inter as a youngster, Baresi joined arch-rivals Milan in 1972 before establishing himself as one of their brightest talents.

In 1977, at the tender age of 17, piscinin (little one) made his senior debut for the Rossoneri, with his complete defensive skillset and masterful technique enabling Baresi to play the libero role in Nils Liedholm's side - basically the fella that mops everything up at the back and gets on the ball more than everybody else.

With his talent clear, Baresi became a leading figure a season later, and alongside Milan icons Fabio Capello and Gianni Rivera, the Rossoneri laid claim to their first Serie A crown since 1968 - their tenth overall.

That would be the first of six Scudetti for Baresi, with his final title coming almost 20 years later in 1996 with the aforementioned Capello in the dugout at San Siro.

Stout Serie A Campaign, 1987/88

After almost a decade of obscurity, the arrival of football revolutionary Arrigo Sacchi saw Milan reestablish themselves as an Italian powerhouse.

Shifting away from the catenaccio style synonymous with Italian football for decades, Sacchi adopted an aggressive system at San Siro, one based around a suffocating high press and a telepathic relationship between the back four.

Despite the shift, Baresi thrived and in Sacchi's maiden season at the Rossoneri, he guided Milan to the Scudetto - outlasting Napoli after losing two games all season.

And while the Dutch triumvirate of Gullit, Rijkaard and van Basten undoubtedly played a major role, it was Baresi's backline that paved way for Sacchi's imminent success in Milan - with piscinin's remarkable positional awareness, aggressiveness and organisational skills ensuring they mastered the 'offside trap', conceding just 14 goals in 30 league games that campaign.

1990 Champions League Final

Baresi led Milan back to the European Cup final for the second season running following their 4-0 triumph over Steaua Bucharest in 1989.

But while on that occasion Milan blew away their opponents with dynamic forward play, Sacchi's men showed respect to Sven Goran Eriksson's Benfica side and often conceded possession to the Portuguese outfit.

And Baresi, strutting around the Prater Stadion with his notoriously loose untucked shirt, put in the most majestic of showings that night. Spearheading the most dominant four-man partnership the planet has ever seen, the Milan skipper kept the Benfica attack at bay with relative ease - with his generational defensive instincts and frightening composure in possession coming to the fore at the pinnacle of club football.

Rijkaard bagged the winner to ensure Milan came away with a 1-0 victory and back-to-back European crowns, but it was Baresi who stole the show with a masterclass in centre-back play.

1994 World Cup Final Performance

While the Benfica performance might've been the finest of his domestic career, there's no doubting that the 1994 World Cup final was Baresi's greatest on the international stage.

Barely three weeks removed from a seemingly serious meniscus injury, Baresi made a heroic - and possibly quite silly - recovery in time for the final against Brazil.

Any concerns about their captain were soon abolished, however, as Baresi put in a vintage performance. Countless times did Baresi pick off through-ball after through-ball and sniff out a Brazilian attack with a perfectly-timed challenge as the Italian defence -Tassotti and Costacurta-less - shut out Romario and co. in the beaming North American sun.

And despite being in the twilight of his career, Baresi's libero instincts ensured he posed a threat when the Azzurri had possession as well; kickstarting attacks from deep with his trademark ability to break lines at will with the ball at his feet.

Yes, it ended in tears and Baresi missing his penalty in the shootout, but Kaiser Franz's monumental effort for 120 minutes typified just how special Baresi was.

90min's 'Top 50 Greatest Footballers of All Time' can be found here.

Number 50: Luka Modric

Number 49: John Charles

Number 48: Hugo Sanchez

Number 47: Jairzinho

Number 46: Omar Sivori

Number 45: Paolo Rossi

Number 44: Paul Breitner

Number 43: George Weah

Number 42: Kaka

Number 41: Lev Yashin

Number 40: Gunnar Nordahl