Milan's squad observed a minute's silence following training in Perth on Friday after learning that Franco Baresi had died at the age of 66.
The club announced his passing this morning, following a period of ill health. Tributes have arrived from clubs, former team-mates and opponents alike, honouring both the defender he was and the man he was.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the players gathered at the centre of the pitch wearing the No.6 shirt and held a minute's silence that ended in applause. The paper described it as a deeply intimate and touching moment.
The sadness was clearest among the members of the Rossoneri delegation who had been closest to Baresi over the years, those who knew him first as a legendary captain and later as a manager who remained attentive and available to everyone around the club.
Among the players in Perth, only Matteo Gabbia and Rafael Leão, both long-serving at Milan, knew him well. For Davide Bartesaghi, Francesco Camarda and Christian Comotto, who came through the youth academy as supporters of the club, he had always been a figure of the past made real.
The pre-season work in Perth will go on, but the mood around the group has shifted. For a club that carries his memory in its identity, this is a loss that reaches well beyond the training pitch.