AC Milan will honour Franco Baresi at a funeral in the city on Tuesday, only a few hours before the team faces Inter in a pre-season match in Perth, Australia.
Key takeaways
- The funeral will begin at 11:00 local time on Tuesday, August 4, at Milan’s Sant’Ambrogio Basilica.
- Baresi, a lifelong Milan player and former captain, died at the age of 66 over the weekend.
- Club executives and a large group of Baresi’s former teammates are due to attend the service.
- Milan’s squad and coaching team will remain in Australia, with Santiago Gimenez and Christian Pulisic absent because of injuries.
- Players in Perth will wear black armbands, hold a minute’s silence and take part in a stadium tribute before the Inter match.
Funeral arrangements in Milan
The service is set to take place at 11:00 on Tuesday, August 4, at the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio. Baresi spent his complete playing career with Milan and wore the captain’s armband for many years before his death at 66 during the weekend.
Milan president Paolo Scaroni, owner Gerry Cardinale and chief executive Massimo Calvelli are expected among those present. Former teammates including Paolo Maldini, Marco van Basten, Dejan Savicevic, Demetrio Albertini, Sebastiano Rossi, Gianluca Zambrotta, Daniele Massaro, Alberico Evani, Roberto Donadoni and Pietro Paolo Virdis are also scheduled to attend.
Inter, Barcelona and Real Madrid are expected to send delegations, while Italian broadcaster Rete 4 will provide live coverage of the ceremony.
Milan’s tribute in Perth
The Milan players and coaching staff cannot travel back for the funeral because they are in Australia for their pre-season programme. Santiago Gimenez and Christian Pulisic are the only members of the squad who remained in Perth rather than taking part because of injury.
Instead, Milan will mark Baresi’s passing before the meeting with Inter. The players will use black armbands, and the match will begin after a minute of silence. Images from Baresi’s career will be displayed on the stadium screen, while fans have prepared a coordinated tribute in the stands.
