In Appreciation Of Franco Baresi

"There are pictures of the weeping comeback captain and Divine Ponytail consoling each other while Brazilian players dance in the background. No one did more on the pitch to drag Italy to the final than Baggio. No one did more off the pitch than Baresi."

In Episode Thirty Two we look at 'In Appreciation of Franco Baresi' by Sheridan Bird, first published in Issue Eight in 2013.

The article touches on the Italian captain's unusual journey to the finals - from his orphaned upbringing and rejection by Inter, through to an abortive international retirement - and his remarkable recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery to play the full 120 minutes in the blazing Pasadena Rosebowl sunshine.

Sheridan Bird writes for Champions, World Soccer, Creative Review, Sporting iD, FourFourTwo and the Manchester United and England match programmes. He has written for Gazzetta della Sport online and appeared on Italian state radio RAI 1 during Euro 2012. Twitter: @SheridanBird

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