Mostovoy called Baresi a smart and fast defender.

The 1982 world champion of the Italian national team, Franco Baresi, was distinguished on the field by his intelligence and simplicity of action. This was announced on July 31 by former Spartak midfielder, USSR and Russian national teams Alexander Mostovoy.

"He never made anything up—he took the ball away, knocked it out, and that's it. He was a pretty smart defender, and I used him as an example in the future, too. He was sharp, fast, tenacious, and was distinguished by his simplicity, and this was a huge plus for the defender," Mostovoy said in an interview with the TASS news agency.

According to the athlete, the first time he played against Baresi was in a qualifying match for the European Football Championship. Back then, the Italian was held up as an example to the Russian team for his simplicity and effectiveness of the game. The veteran also explained why Spartak Moscow defender Dmitry Khlestov was once nicknamed Baresi. Mostovoy noted that this happened at a time when Khlestov had just joined the team at a young age.

"He was so called because of the similarity in appearance, he didn't have a football figure. And he was just as tenacious in the game," he added.

Legendary coach Mircea Lucescu. Biography

Baresi's death at the age of 66 was announced on the same day by the press service of the Milan football club. The defender played for the team throughout his career, from 1978 to 1997. He was the captain of the club, won the Italian championship six times and won the Champions League three times. From 2002 to 2008, he worked on the coaching staff of Milan under Carlo Ancelotti.