Franco Baresi, yet another insult to his memory: Milan fans speak out
Yet another insult to the memory of Franco Baresi, the legendary captain of Milan who died at the age of 66 on July 31. Fans report that the new mural at Casa Milan has been vandalized, just like the one from a month ago.
The Champions League trophy has been blacked out, and the captain’s armband and the Milan crest on the shorts have been painted over with black paint. The mural had been redone by the same artist, Luca Rosada—known as Lucas Street Art—after it was defaced on September 27.
The new mural was unveiled on October 10; it was larger and composed of multiple panels. Rossoneri fans on social media are outraged: “Sick with loneliness and consumed by envy,” “But can a €45 camera really identify who they are?” “Milan, however, should start taking this situation seriously; certain people must be severely punished,” “Is it possible that no one is catching these beasts?”
The artist told X he’s ready to recreate the work: “Unfortunately, there will never be an end to the worst, but luckily I won’t give up either—I’ll come back to fix it, out of respect for Franco Baresi.”
The first act of vandalism occurred on Sunday, September 27, when vandals covered part of the jersey, shorts, and a sock with black spray paint, completely obscuring the face and the iconic number 6. The act of vandalism was discovered by Alessandro Giungi, city council member and President of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Commission, who documented it on social media: “Vandalizing a mural commemorating Franco Baresi is such a cowardly and despicable act that it fills me with deep sorrow for the perpetrator of such a disgrace.” Rosada, too, commented bitterly at the time: “This defacement of the artwork breaks my heart—for having defaced the person, for having defaced the image, for having defaced Franco Baresi.”
For the new version, created on October 10 in front of Casa Milan, the artist chose the “paste-up” technique, which involves printing an image on paper and applying it directly to the wall. Rosada used recycled paper, emphasizing that the material does not damage the wall, and chose to depict a smiling Baresi dressed in Rossoneri colors.
The number 6 in the artwork represents much more than just a number to the Rossoneri world: Baresi wore that jersey for over 700 matches between 1982 and 1997, becoming the ultimate symbol of Milan and Italian soccer. The trophy depicted in the mural also references the 1989 European Cup, which Baresi himself lifted as captain.
