Franco Baresi vs Clint Dempsey: Stats Compared
Sweeper / Centre-Back, Italy (born 1960, retired 1997) · Forward, United States (born 1983, retired 2018)
Few debates split football fans quite like Franco Baresi versus Clint Dempsey. Beyond the numbers, each man brought a singular aesthetic to the pitch. Franco Baresi finishes with 19 career goals from 800 games — a 0.02 strike rate — against Clint Dempsey's 180 from 550 at 0.33 per match. Assists were not reliably tracked for much of their careers, which makes the playmaking comparison an imperfect one; where records exist, Franco Baresi is credited with 0 and Clint Dempsey with 90. Franco Baresi departs the game with 18 major pieces of silverware, including 3× European Cup (1989, 1990, 1994); Clint Dempsey with 2, including 1× MLS Supporters' Shield (2014). Stylistically Franco Baresi was resolute where Clint Dempsey was mercurial — two vocabularies of the same sport. Context beyond the headline totals is important: Franco Baresi's landmark level arrived around 1989 with a career spanning AC Milan; Clint Dempsey's came around 2012 across New England Revolution, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, Seattle Sounders. Picking between them says as much about the picker as the players.
173 words · comparison angle: style
Player profiles
AC Milan icon who spent his entire 20-year career at the club; three-time European Cup winner and 1994 World Cup finalist with Italy.
“A peerless sweeper whose reading, tackling and leadership built a defensive dynasty at Milan.”
The first American to score in three separate World Cups, Dempsey became the first US-born player to captain a Premier League team and remains one of the country's most decorated forwards.
“A tenacious, technically gifted forward whose late runs into the box and clever improvisation produced some of American soccer's most memorable goals.”
Head-to-head stats
Career goals by season
Representative career seasons — goals per season for each player across their documented clubs.
Attribute radar
Attribute ratings are peak-era, 0–100. Different positions naturally skew the profile.
Attribute comparison
Trophy breakdown
- 3× European Cup (1989, 1990, 1994)
- 6× Serie A (1979, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996)
- 4× Supercoppa Italiana
- 3× UEFA Super Cup
- 2× Intercontinental Cup (1989, 1990)
- 1× MLS Supporters' Shield (2014)
- 1× MLS Cup (2016)
Trophy distribution
Career milestones
- 1977 AC Milan debut aged 17
- 1979 First Scudetto with Milan
- 1980 Stayed at Milan in Serie B after the betting scandal
- 1989 First European Cup with Milan
- 1994 Won the Champions League conceding just 15 goals in 30 league games
- 1997 Retired aged 37 with the number 6 shirt retired in his honour
- 2004 Professional debut for New England Revolution
- 2014 Won MLS Supporters' Shield with Seattle Sounders
- 2016 Won MLS Cup with Seattle Sounders
- 2012 Reached the peak of his powers at Fulham
- 2018 Retired after a final spell at Seattle Sounders
- Finished his career with 180 goals in 550 appearances and 2 major honours. Finished his career with 180 goals in 550 appearances and 2 major honours.
The verdict
Reasonable people will disagree, but Franco Baresi wins out by a decisive margin on the weight of a weightier trophy cabinet.
Franco Baresi edges it (a decisive margin)
