Franco Baresi will teach our kids

Great champion of AC Milan and Azzurri in our city to open a soccer school

The presence of Franco Baresi, champion of champions, here today is the first step of the Champions School, the new academy that will bring great soccer in Toronto." With these words, Frank Ciccolini, MC of the event in honour of Franco Baresi, opened the gala that celebrated the visit to our city of one of the greatest 'sweepers' in the history of soccer.
Baresi arrived in Toronto last Sunday afternoon and was immediately greeted by a crowd at Le Jardin Banquet Hall in Woodbridge. Close to 500 people came to meet this great champion, ask him for an autograph and a photo together.
Franco Baresi was in Toronto to finalize an agreement on the establishment of this soccer school. We immediately asked him whether he was going to direct it.
"Everything is still to be defined; I will be shuttling back and forth with Italy, and there will be other coaches working here. There are many enthusiastic Italians here, and many youth eager to play soccer."
At present, Franco Baresi coaches the youngsters of Milan AC, so his personal involvement seems to imply an interest by the team itself. "Definitely, we are interested," explained Michele Ferrari, product manager of Milan AC's 'Project Youth.' "We have already held a couple of summer initiatives in Toronto, but this time the idea is both broader in scope and longer in duration. What we are studying is the possibility to open two permanent schools in Toronto and Miami by next June, thus establishing 'feelers' in North America."
In the same vein, right before the Milan-Fiorentina game at San Siro Daniele Massaro remarked, "This week I've been in Belgrade, Bratislava and Budapest for the Project Youth. I had just returned from Thessalonica. I notice that Milan AC is among the three European clubs best known in the world. We are busily working to improve further, bringing even more fans in touch with our colours."
The club's commitment would seem certain; what has been going on here in Toronto remains to be seen. Enrico Mazzone and Filippo Bancheri (the men behind the whole project) keep their mouths shut. "There will be no official announcement until everything is written down," they insisted, but their agenda was crammed with meetings.
Several sites have been surveyed as potential locations for the school. An important builder of Italian origins is rumoured to be involved, but his name is still under wraps.
There has also been a meeting with Alberto Di Giovanni, with the idea being to get the sports branch of Centro Scuola involved. "I have too little information," had told us Di Giovanni before the meeting. "I will listen to and give due consideration to their proposals, and then we'll decide."
The director of Centro Scuola had attended the Sunday dinner and seen the affection and honours offered to Franco Baresi. "Baresi is as much a champion in life as he was on the field," continued Di Giovanni. "His involvement in this project is a guarantee in itself."
Among the crowd cheering Baresi were Vaughan mayor Michael Di Biase, Vaughan councillor Tony Carella, Toronto councillor Peter Li Preti, Milan AC superfan Salvatore Marra and his 'cousin-opponent' Rocco Cerone, who chairs Toronto's Inter Club.
Baresi gave himself to the crowd, to the VIPs as much as to the youngest fans, not necessarily Milan AC fans. For instance, Baresi had brought with him two autographed jerseys: one by Kakà, the other by Maldini. The first was drawn for among everyone in attendance, going to Antonio Calabria who immediately commented, "I'm very happy of winning it, even though I'm a Juventus fan." The second was auctioned off, and won (for $3,000) by Carlo Baldassarra, notoriously a Lazio faithful.
However, being able to interview Franco Baresi and constraining one's questions to matters of local soccer would be folly. We therefore asked the great champion to give us his assessment of the three top soccer events for Italian fans: Serie A, Champions League, and the World Cup.

Last Saturday, when AS Roma evened the score against Juventus at Turin, the crowd at San Siro cheered with joy. Eight points are a lot, but ilan AC fans seem to believe in the possibility of closing the gap. Do you think Milan might overtake Juventus in the final rush?
"People were right to cheer, gaining two points is important. It is true that the number of games remaining is small, and that a team such as Juventus is unlikely to have a crisis. However, soccer remains inscrutable, and Milan AC must go its own way and accumulate as many points as possible; and then we'll see."

In the Champions League, Milan AC must play Lyon and then, eventually, Barcelona. Will you make it to the finals?
"French teams have always been tough nuts to crack for Italian teams, so for the moment we are focused on beating Lyon."

In the event of an all-Italian finals, would you prefer it to be Milan-Juventus or Milan-Inter?
"I always prefer facing a foreign team, regardless of its strength. Let's go all the way first, and then we'll face whomever will be our opponent."

For the coming World Cup in Germany, how do you see Italy?
"They have the numbers to play a great World Cup, arriving with a high morale..."

Will Totti recover?
"He suffered a severe injury, but we all hope he'll make it."

Is Brazil really unbeatable, or can it be defeated?
"Unbeatable, on paper at least. They have first-class midfielders and attackers, but the defenders aren't as strong, so they might not be as invincible as some say."

Against Brazil, you have the bad memory of the Pasadena free kicks in the final game of USA'94. Were you more disappointed with that game or with the defeat Milan AC suffered in Istanbul?
"Those were two very different events. In the United States I was playing, and losing the World Cup after the free kicks is a hard disappointment, the finals are a once in a lifetime occurrence. For those who were playing in Istanbul, wasting a three-goal advantage can truly embitter."

Would that have happened with Baresi's Milan?
"In soccer, you can never tell... Anyway, I never found myself with a three-goal advantage at the end of the first half. That was a really good opportunity."

Back to Pasadena: why didn't Italy take more risks in the overtime?
"We had reached the finals by expending a lot of energy. We had a couple of occasions, but so did them. The game was balanced. In order to push more, you need the strength..."

Who was to be praised for leading Italy to the finals: Sacchi or Baggio?
"Baggio was fundamental, decisive. The team played well in a very difficult climate. The heat made the difference. Anyway, the whole group suffered and fought, managing to go to the end."

Who was the strongest player you had to mark?
"There were so many of them... Maradona, Careca... Platini..."

Who would you like to see in today's Milan? Cudicini, Van Basten, Gullit or Baresi?
"In today's Milan? I think Van Basten might be a strong asset."

Last question: should the current rule on off-sides be changed? If so, how?
"The important thing is that the rules be clear; active or passive is beside the point, clarity is what matters. There has always been an off-sides rule..."

Publication Date: 2006-04-02
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=6123