Franco Baresi leads Ryan Giggs in One-Club Men XI dominated by Italy

In honour of iconic AC Milan and Italy defender Franco Baresi, who has died at the age of 66, here’s an XI of the greatest one-club men of all time.

Would Steven Gerrard have made this team if he had retired at Liverpool?

Goalkeeper: Lev Yashin (Dynamo Moscow)

Revered by generations who never saw him play, Lev Yashin is still considered by many as the greatest number one in football history and remains the only goalkeeper to have won the Ballon d’Or.

Yashin spent his whole career with Dynamo Moscow and there are some other notable shot-stoppers who stayed loyal to one club.

Italy’s 1934 World Cup-winning captain Gianpiero Combi never left Juventus whilst Germany legend Sepp Maier was with Bayern Munich from their first ever season in the Bundesliga through to a hat-trick of European Cup wins in the seventies.

Right-back: Giuseppe Bergomi (Inter Milan)

With his hardened stare and thick moustache, Giuseppe Bergomi already looked like he’d spent 20 years at Inter Milan when he won the World Cup with Italy as a teenager in 1982. By ’99 he really had spent two decades with the Nerazzurri.

Berti Vogts is also eligible, having never left Borussia Monchengladbach, and there are plenty of Englishman who could feature too. Fulham’s World Cup winner George Cohen, Blackpool’s Jimmy Armfield and pundit/businessman/podcast-host/future Mayor of Manchester Gary Neville.

Centre-back: Carlos Puyol (Barcelona)

Captain of Barcelona during the period of Catalan domination that saw the Messi-inspired side become quite possibly the greatest club side in history, what possible reason would Carlos Puyol have had to leave the Nou Camp? There are plenty of English options in reserve, including iconic Arsenal skipper Tony Adams, Wolves legend Billy Wright, Everton hero Brian Labone, Leeds United luminary Jack Charlton, Spurs stalwart Ledley King, Liverpool’s local lad Jamie Carragher and Manchester United’s 1968 European Cup winner Bill Foulkes.

Centre-back: Franco Baresi (AC Milan)

Captain of AC Milan during the Rossoneri’s revolutionary spell of the late eighties and early nineties that saw the club win three European Cups, Franco Baresi will be forever remembered as one of the greatest centre-backs to ever grace the game. A calm yet commanding presence, Baresi led a legendary back-line at the San Siro that has set the bar for every defensive system since.

Such was the dominance of this side, Milan players finished in the top three positions of the Ballon d’or two years running, with Baresi coming second to deadly Dutch striker Marco Van Basten in 1989. He continued to play until he was 37, retiring 20 years after his debut.

Left-back: Paolo Maldini (AC Milan)

Taking on the responsibility of captain after Baresi’s farewell was Paolo Maldini, who followed in the footsteps of his predecessor by remaining at the San Siro for his whole career and adding two more European Cups to the club’s long list of honours before hanging up his boots at the age of 40.

Inter have their own legendary one-club man at left-back in the form of Giacinto Facchetti, whilst Brazil’s two-time World Cup winner Nilton Santos never left home-town club Botafogo.

Right-wing: Giampiero Boniperti (Juventus)

If Baresi and Maldini embody the spirit of AC Milan, then Giampiero Boniperti and Alessandro Del Piero are their Juventus counterparts. Unlike Del Piero, Boniperti started and finished his career in Turin, winning five league titles with the club during the fifties and early sixties. Alongside Welsh icon John Charles and Argentina star Omar Sivori, Boniperti was part of the Bianconeri’s ‘Trio Magico’ and retired at the top after lifting the 1961 Serie A title. He remained as the club’s top scorer until Del Piero took the crown in 2006, the same year he was appointed as honourary president of the ‘Old Lady’.

Central midfield: Jozsef Bozsik (Budapest Honved)

A key player in Hungary’s incredible team of the 1950’s that was considered the best in the World, Jozsef Bozsik opted to stay in his home country unlike the other star men of the ‘Mighty Magyars’. Zoltan Czibor and Sandor Kocsis both ended up at Barcelona, whilst star striker Ferenc Puskas moved on from Bozsik’s beloved Budapest Honved to help Real Madrid dominate the early years of the European Cup.

Soviet stalwart Valery Voronin is another option after spending his whole career with Torpedo Moscow, as is Germany and Koln hero Wolfgang Overath.

Central midfield: Sandro Mazzola (Inter Milan)

Making it a San Siro stalemate with two heroes from both Milan sides in this XI is Sandro Mazzola. His dad Valentino was the star of the superb Torino side of the 1940s that won five league titles before tragedy struck at the Superga air disaster of ’49. Sandro was only six when his father died but went on to emulate him by winning Serie A multiple times with the Nerazzurri as well as lifting back-to-back European Cups, with Mazzola scoring twice in the 3-1 win over Real Madrid in ’64.

Left wing: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)

Burst on to the scene as a teenager just as Manchester United began to conquer English football in the nascent years of the Premier League and won the lot before retiring at the age of 40. Bar the 1990 FA Cup and subsequent European Cup Winner’s Cup victory, everything the Red Devils won under Alex Ferguson was done with the help of Giggs. Liverpool legend Billy Liddell will have to settle for a spot on the bench, as will Ajax icon Piet Keizer.

Forward: Francesco Totti (Roma)

Paul Scholes’ brief stint at Royton Town in 2018 and Bobby Charlton’s player-manager spell at Preston North End rule out another Manchester United legend joining Giggs in this side so it’s back to Italy with Roma joining Juventus and the two Milan sides in the one-club hero stakes. Unlike his fellow countryman in this eleven, Totti wasn’t part of an era-defining side, with just one Serie A title and two Coppa Italias to his name during his 25 seasons at the Stadio Olimpico. Staying true to his roots in favour of lifting silverware in Spain makes him an eternal icon of the eternal city.

Forward: Florian Albert (Ferencvaros)

Confident, bold and lethal in front of goal, Florian Albert remaining with Ferencvaros his whole career is the equivalent of Erling Haaland never leaving Molde. Such was Albert’s brilliance, the Hungarian striker stopped Bobby Charlton from lifting a second Ballon d’or, winning the 1967 edition ahead of England’s World Cup winner and the likes of Beckenbauer, Eusebio, Muller and Best.

Fritz Walter, Germany’s triumphant captain in ’54, is another option up front, having stayed with Kaiserslautern despite lucrative offers from abroad.