Totally Extra: Franco Baresi - the best defender ever?

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
The Athletic FC.

**James Richardson** (0:09)
Today on Totally Extra, we salute Franco Baresi, who left us this summer, but will be Milan's numero sei per sempre, a man who played for four great sides, but only ever won club, truly a captain leader legend, the frankly amazing Franco Baresi. Hello, it's late August 2026, as we lay down this Totally Extra with Duncan Alexander.

**Duncan Alexander** (0:50)
Hello.

**James Richardson** (0:51)
And James Horncastle.

**James Horncastle** (0:53)
Hello, Jimbo.

**James Richardson** (0:54)
Earlier this month, tens of thousands lined the streets of Milano to mourn Franco Baresi.
Who left us at the end of July at the age of just 66 What a shock that news was. Baresi, who was Milan's player of the century. More than that, one of the greatest footballers to ever live in, I'm gonna throw it out there. The greatest defender, maybe, to ever do it. What do you think, guys?

**James Horncastle** (1:28)
Perhaps with Paolo Maldini, the guy he mentored, essentially.
And I do think when we look at the symbols of football in different countries, with Italy, perhaps because everyone has in their head Italy, Catenaccio, defending.
The first person that comes to mind is often, I think, Paolo Maldini. Also because he's got the kind of looks. But Paolo Maldini would no doubt tell us that he considers Franco above everyone and everything when it comes to that position. That, I wouldn't even say style of play because while he was a defender, he was a very aggressive, attacking centre-back. But, yeah, I mean, to see the outpouring of emotion at his funeral, it felt like a state funeral rather than the funeral of a once former football player. And not the only one to pass away this summer as well. I know it's not quite on the same level, but I've just come back from my holiday in Puglia, south of Italy, and landed in Bari, got the hire car, drive out. And there was graffiti along the motorway commemorating the life of Eagle Protty, Protty who died this summer as well. Protty was one of those strikers that you always looked at and thought, wow, I mean, look at the depth Italy have got. This guy is just unbelievable. So, yeah, sad at both ends of heaven's football pitch.

**James Richardson** (3:21)
Well, that's true.
Both super chaps, Baresi and Eagle Protty, who had the very great pleasure to meet down in Bari. Did you? Yeah, yeah. Because they had a run of having these players who kind of came out of nowhere to lead the goal scoring. Sandra Toviglieri was another one out of the Cobra.

**James Horncastle** (3:41)
Yeah.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:41)
Yeah.

**James Horncastle** (3:42)
Dario Hoopner, still going, fishing, drinking grappa. It's kept him going.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:47)
Maybe that's the way to go.

**Duncan Alexander** (3:48)
Yeah.

**James Horncastle** (3:49)
You know.

**James Richardson** (3:50)
Duncan Baresi, though, was he part of your, I don't know, Sunday afternoons as a youth?

**Duncan Alexander** (3:57)
I didn't try before to show Italian football, I think. I think so.

**James Horncastle** (4:01)
It's on BBC Alban now.

**Duncan Alexander** (4:03)
Yeah. But yeah, absolutely. I mean, when that started, because obviously, as a small child in the 80s, we didn't really get to see, I'd heard about him. I'd seen the name in Match Magazine, but I'd never really watched him play. And then you see him playing, he's, sure, he's five foot nine.
And you know, you get that now with, I guess, Lissandra Martinez at Manchester United. But it was even more jarring in the 80s when the ball spent so much time, you know, back and forth in the air. He just looked like a different sort of player, like a man. I think there's some footballers you can drop in to any era and they'd be brilliant. And Baresi is one of them, because he just, as James said, he's just like, he could do everything on the ball. And he always looked forward, you know, like modern managers would love him punching the ball through to the midfield. Right.

**James Richardson** (4:51)
He also looked forward, temporally speaking, he always seemed to be five to 10 seconds ahead of everything else that was happening. His timing, his reading was extraordinary. There's something that actually you picked up on in your tribute on The Athletic.
Jamie Carragher, who's come out strongly as Baresi.

**James Horncastle** (5:11)
Super fan.

**James Richardson** (5:11)
A super fan, but also Werner Herzog, which caught me by surprise, James.

**James Horncastle** (5:16)
Yeah. Werner Herzog.

**James Richardson** (5:19)
Director of Fitzcarraldo, Nosferatu, what else we got?

**James Horncastle** (5:23)
Also some great memoirs from Werner Herzog.