Franco Baresi has died: the last captain who knew how to defend without fouling

This morning, at the age of 66, Franco Baresi died - a man who spent his entire career at one club and became the measure of what a defender means. His whole career at Milan, captain for years, the symbol of the most dominant side of Italian football's golden age. In August 2025, at a routine check-up, doctors found a nodule on his lungs and operated; in December that year he appeared at San Siro and the crowd greeted him with a standing ovation. The public last saw him carrying the Olympic torch at the opening of the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, alongside his friend Giuseppe Bergomi. The news was reported by Fabrizio Romano. Some will say Baresi is a relic of a time when defenders were stars - perhaps, but that time is not as far away as it feels.

Chelsea paid 10 million pounds for 74 breaches - and nobody lost any points

Chelsea admitted 74 breaches of Football Association rules and received a 10 million pound fine plus a suspended transfer ban across two windows. The breaches occurred between 2009 and 2022, mostly in the Roman Abramovich era, and the current owners self-reported them after the 2022 takeover. The initial ruling also included a suspended six-point deduction - Chelsea appealed and the appeal board replaced it with a transfer ban that only activates if the club repeats similar offences before 30 June 2027. With earlier settlements with UEFA and the Premier League, the bill already exceeds 18 million pounds. The entire fine goes to grassroots football in England, which sounds fine - but the question that remains is why self-reporting always costs less than getting caught.

After two years Mudryk can play: the test that would not be positive today

Mykhailo Mudryk is allowed back on the pitch. The Football Association lifted his doping suspension with immediate effect, on the grounds that under current scientific testing standards the sample taken from the 25-year-old Ukrainian would not constitute a breach today. His last match was in 2024 against Heidenheim. He risked a four-year ban; after an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the suspension fell. Two years of a footballer's life passed training alone at semi-professional London side Uxbridge - and in the end it turns out the yardstick changed. Mudryk joins Chelsea's pre-season in Hong Kong, where he will fight for minutes with Jamie Gittens and Dastan Satpayev. Who gives him back those two years?

Aris released Dimitrijević - but the ball is now with the player himself

This is a football column, but the news comes from basketball and it is worth it because it shows the difference between a club that respects the national shirt and one that does not. Aris of Thessaloniki officially confirmed there are no obstacles to Nenad Dimitrijević being available to Macedonia from 16 August 2026. The Basketball Federation called it „a significant gesture of sporting decency“. And there the story stops - because the next step is not the club's, but the coach's squad list and Dimitrijević's own decision. The end of August brings an away fixture against Austria, the start of a new pre-qualifying cycle. Every other excuse has now been removed.

Rabotnički beat Osogovo 2:1, but the real test is the Second League

In preparation for their first season in the Macedonian Second League, the footballers of Rabotnički beat Osogovo 2:1 at the Alumina stadium in Skopje. The goals came from Miserdovski and Kudijan. Friendlies are forgiving - no punishment, no pressure, and any result looks like confirmation. The real measure for a club with that history is not whether it beats Osogovo in July, but whether it is in the top half of the table by May. Until then, at least, the „romantics“ are playing like a team with no intention of spending the season in mid-table.