Paolo Maldini was understandably very emotional during yesterday’s farewell to Franco Baresi, and he has spoken about what he meant to him.
On Tuesday morning, the funeral of the legendary Baresi took place at the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan. It is the same church that also hosted the funeral of another Milan legend – Cesare Maldini – 10 years ago.
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That is perhaps one of the reasons why Maldini was so clearly effected by yesterday’s events, as a video showed him in tears along with another emotional former team-mate in Marco van Basten. He was of course saying goodbye to a very close friend and a mentor too.
Maldini spoke about his emotions during Baresi’s funeral in an interview with La Repubblica this morning, with his words relayed by MilanNews.
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“I was there for Franco, we were all there for him. It’s true [he got emotional], but we’re talking about Baresi, eh. I was thinking about him, we shared so many things together. Matches, victories, moments. I felt strong emotions,” he said.
“I loved him, and I have so many fond memories of him. We’d known each other for many years. It was like reuniting with old friends. We’ve never lost touch, but being all together is always a special feeling. On this occasion, we were all lined up behind our captain.”
*affected