“I Wander” and “There's Only One Captain”
Having passed away on the same day (July 31, 2026), the "priest of the worst" and the "number 6 par excellence" were bid farewell within a day of each other by fans singing the Nomadi song on Monday and the stadium chant reserved for decades for the "Captain" who went from "little pool boy" to "Giant of AC Milan and the national team." The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio was besieged by huge crowds despite the August heat and uncontrollable heat.
A captain.
There is only one captain.
The slice of Milan overlooking the square in front of the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio looked like a San Siro stadium. The atmosphere and the chants were the same ones Franco Baresi had last enjoyed on June 1, 1997, when Milan-Cagliari (0-1) played at the Meazza, the final match in the career of the Captain par excellence: that day, Milan's number 6 shirt was retired, as is customary for great sportsmen.
Franco was 37 years old.
Twenty-seven years later, he passed away from a lung nodulation. A multitude of champions, whose boots were hanging up, passed before our eyes as we bid farewell: esteemed friends, Rossoneri and Nerazzurri players united in grief, so much so that Beppe Bergomi read the first farewell reading at the altar, because the respect between the two had long since overcome the obstacle of rivalry.
His jersey has been emblazoned on memorabilia like the number 10 jerseys worn by Napoli Calcio for Diego Armando Maradona; the number 14 for Pallacanstro Cantù for Pierluigi Marzorati in basketball; the number 23 worn by Michael Jordan and the numbers 8 and 24 worn by Kobe Briant in the NBA. Etc., etc. Just like the number 108.
The red and black jersey that was on Wouter Weylandt's jersey and bike frame hasn't been featured at the Giro d'Italia since 2011, following the death of the Belgian rider who fell on the descent from the Passo del Bocco towards Rapallo. But that's another story. But there, in the Sant'Ambrogio square, how many were wearing the red and black jersey? Thousands.
Everyone there for a final farewell to the Brescian "piscinin" who became a "giant" with Milan after being rejected by Inter thanks to Giuseppe, known as "Beppe".
A Captain.
There is only one Captain.
A few words that say it all, that condense the feelings of teammates and opponents, managers: those of Milan were booed and those of Inter applauded in a sort of destiny crumpled in on itself.
There, in the same square, other people had gathered to pay their respects to Don Antonio Mazzi, the priest of the worst, as he used to call himself: a true icon of simple and direct, therefore effective, communication, both on the pitch and on television with "Aunt" Mara Venier, a Venetian like him.
And if Baresi happened to pass by Ernesto and Paolo Colnago's workshop in Cambiago, on the eastern outskirts of Greater Milan, the "don" regularly stopped there on the Saturdays before Christmas to pray to the "Bambin" – the Baby Jesus – and to receive from Ernesto his very personal "Bambin," which in Brianza means the gift of the "Baby Jesus": the annual tangible support for the works of the priest who built the Exodus Community in Milan's Parco Lambro.
On those repeated and respected occasions, the cycling parish would gather silently but in great numbers in the courtyard in front of Ernesti's factory, always accompanied by his wife Vincenzina for as long as she remained alive.
Don Mazzi officiated the Holy Mass, and anyone who wanted would stay for a slice of Christmas panettone and a glass of sparkling wine. Best wishes, best wishes, best wishes... and then everyone returned to where they had come from: Gianni Motta far from Felice Gimondi, Giuseppe Saronni without Francesco Moser, Eddy Merckx without that Ugo De Rosa with whom he had replaced the first, great mechanic of his inimitable career, but to whom (Colnago) always remained connected in his own way.
July 31, 2026, was a day of mourning for the sixty-six-year-old footballer from Travagliato and the ninety-six-year-old activist from Verona who, having left his priest's robe in the closet, did his best to help drug addicts recover.
The two Giants passed away on the same day and were bid farewell within 24 hours of each other on August 3rd and 4th, under the scorching heat and muggy Milanese weather: the priest amidst the blooms of his beloved sunflowers, symbolizing his tireless pursuit of the Light, and to the tune of "Io vagabondo (che non sono altro)" by the Nomadi, released into the sky along with his "goodbye prayer"; the footballer amidst chants from the Curva Sud and on the shoulders of his lifelong footballing companions, led by the graying Marco Van Basten, Paolo Maldini, Roberto Baggio, and so on, not forgetting Giancarlo Antognoni, who was also a symbol, but for another team (Fiorentina).
May they both rest in peace.
R.I.P.
