Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini

"Maldini" redirects here. For his father, see Cesare Maldini.
Paolo Maldini
PaoloMaldini.jpg
Maldini playing for Milan in 2008
Personal information
Full name Paolo Cesare Maldini
Date of birth 26 June 1968 (age 45)
Place of birth Milan, Italy
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position Defender
Youth career
1978–1985 Milan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1985–2009 Milan 647 (29)
National team
1986–1988 Italy U21 12 (5)
1988–2002 Italy 126 (7)
Honours[show]
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).
Paolo Cesare Maldini (born 26 June 1968) is a former Italian footballer who played as a left or central defender, being adept with either foot although naturally right footed. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club. During that period, he won the Champions League five times, as well as seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana, five European Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups. He played for 14 years for the Italian national team, making his debut in 1988 before retiring in 2002 with 126 caps and four World Cup participations.
Maldini played at a world class level for his entire career spanning two and a half decades, and won the Best Defender trophy at the UEFA Club Football Awards at the age of 39. He came second to George Weah for the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 1995, the closest a defender had ever come to winning the award, until Fabio Cannavaro, a fellow Italian won the award in 2006. He was also the Milan and Italy captain for many years and was considered a leader amongst leaders by fellow footballers, leading to the nickname "Il Capitano" (the Captain). Paolo's father Cesare formerly played for and captained Milan, and is a successful national U-21 manager.
Contents  [hide]
1 Club career
2 International career
3 Retirement
4 Style of play
5 Personal life
6 Career statistics
6.1 Club
6.2 International
6.3 International goals
7 Honours
7.1 Milan
7.2 National team
7.3 Individual
7.4 Records
7.5 Orders
8 References
Club career[edit source | editbeta]

Maldini made his league debut in the 1984–85 season on 20 January 1985, replacing the injured Sergio Battistini in a match against Udinese at the age of 16.[2][3] It was his only league appearance of the campaign, but he was in the starting eleven the following season. The 1987–88 Scudetto marked Maldini's first trophy, and the first of seven league titles, with the club.[4] He was also part of Milan's undefeated Serie A champion side in the 1991–92 season. The back four that included Maldini and fellow long-timers Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassotti is widely considered one of European football's most formidable defensive quartets of the 1990s. Following Baresi's retirement, he would also form a formidable and successful partnership with Alessandro Nesta.
In addition to winning his third Champions League and reaching the 1994 World Cup final, Maldini became the first defender ever to win World Soccer magazine's annual World Player of the Year Award. During his acceptance speech, Maldini called his milestone "a particular matter of pride because defenders generally receive so much less attention from fans and the media than goalscorers. We are more in the engine room rather than taking the glory."[5] He then singled out Milan captain Franco Baresi as a player who "really [deserved] to receive the sort of award I have received."[5]
Maldini played his 600th Serie A match on 13 May 2007 in a 1–1 draw at Catania.[6] On 25 September 2005, Maldini broke Dino Zoff's Serie A appearance record after playing his 571st league match against Treviso;[7] seven days earlier, he had played his 800th game in all competitions for Milan. On 16 February 2008, Maldini reached 1,000 senior games with Milan and Italy when he entered as a substitute against Parma.[8]
Maldini has participated in eight UEFA Champions League finals during the course of his career, which is bettered only by Francisco Gento, who also appeared in a Cup Winners' Cup final, bringing his total European finals to nine. Maldini has lifted the trophy five times, the latest coming in Milan's 2–1 victory over Liverpool in the 2007 Champions League final on 23 May 2007 in Athens. In an interview with ESPN that aired prior to the broadcast of the 2007 final, he labeled the 2005 Champions League final, a match that Milan lost on penalties to Liverpool after blowing a 3–0 half-time lead, the worst moment of his career, even though he had scored the fastest-ever goal in a European Clubs' Cup final just 51 seconds into the match, in the process also becoming the oldest player ever to score in a final.
Maldini announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2007–08 season, saying that he would do so with "no regrets."[9] However, following Milan's elimination from the Champions League by Arsenal in March, Maldini stated that he would possibly delay his retirement for at least a further year.[10] He signed an extension on 6 June that kept him at Milan for the 2008–09 season.[11] On 18 April 2009, Maldini announced that he will be finally retiring at the end of the 2008–09 season.
On 17 May, in the Friuli Stadium, Maldini played his 900th official match for Milan in a league game against Udinese. Maldini's last match in San Siro was on 24 May, in a game lost 3–2 against Roma. There was a small controversy when the Milan fans known as "Brigate Rossonere", protested against Maldini as he said goodbye.[12][13] His last appearance for Milan, and his last game as an active player was on 31 May 2009, in the last match of the season, against Fiorentina, which Milan won 2–0. Milan retired his number 3 shirt, but it will be bequeathed to one of his sons if one makes the club's senior side.[14][15]
International career[edit source | editbeta]

In 1986, Maldini was called up by his father Cesare to the Italian U-21 side, where he earned twelve caps and scored five goals in two years. He made his Azzurri debut at the age of nineteen on 31 March 1988, in a 1–1 friendly draw against Yugoslavia, and made one appearance for Italy at the 1988 Olympics. Maldini featured in all four of Italy's games at Euro 1988, and participated in his first World Cup in 1990, where Italy lost to Argentina in the semifinals on penalties.
Maldini's first international goal came in his 44th career match, in a 2–0 friendly win over Mexico on 20 January 1993. He captained Italy at the start of the 1994 World Cup, losing to Brazil in the final on penalties. He was named in the Team of the Tournament, 32 years after his father received the same honour at the 1962 World Cup. Euro 1996 would see Italy eliminated in the group stage, and at the quarterfinals of the 1998 World Cup. Italy did reach the final of Euro 2000, but lost to France in extra time.
After Italy were eliminated in the 2002 World Cup round of sixteen, Maldini retired trophyless from international competition as Italy's most capped player. He scored seven international goals, all coming in home games. He spent over half of his 16 years as an international as team captain, wearing the armband a record 74 times.[16]
In February 2009, Italian head coach Marcello Lippi declared his support for a testimonial match for Maldini, stating that it would give him a chance to play for the Azzurri for a final time.[17] Italian Football Federation offered him a place in the line-up in a friendly match against Northern Ireland. However, Maldini rejected the offer, saying that he wanted to part with football in an "official" match.[18]
Retirement[edit source | editbeta]

Prior to his retirement, Maldini expressed that he would never be moving into a coaching career.[19][20] He was offered a position that would have reunited him with his former manager, Carlo Ancelotti, by joining Chelsea as a coach having reportedly met with Ancelotti and with Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich, to discuss such a possibility.[21] On 30 June 2009, Ancelotti announced that Maldini had turned down his offer to become part of Chelsea's coaching staff.[22]
Style of play[edit source | editbeta]

Maldini was primarily known for his positioning as a defender rather than his tackling. He made an average of one tackle every two games and positioned himself well so as to avoid making that tackle.[23]
Personal life[edit source | editbeta]

Maldini has been married to Venezuelan former model Adriana Fossa since 1994.[24][25] The couple have two sons, Christian (born 14 June 1996) and Daniel (born 11 October 2001),[26] who both have already been signed by Maldini's former club Milan and currently play in the youth teams.[27][28]
In 2003, he lifted the European Cup/Champions League as club captain exactly 40 years after his father Cesare accomplished the same feat for the same side. The only other father-son pairs to have done so are Manuel Sanchis Martínez and Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo (won it with Real Madrid), and Carles and Sergio Busquets of FC Barcelona.
Career statistics[edit source | editbeta]

Club[edit source | editbeta]
As of 30 June 2013.[1]
Team Season Serie A Coppa Italia European
Competition1 Other
Tournaments2 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Milan 1984–85 1 0 — — — — — — 1 0
1985–86 27 0 6 0 6 0 1 0 40 0
1986–87 29 1 7 0 — — 13 0 37 1
1987–88 26 2 1 0 2 0 — — 29 2
1988–89 26 0 7 0 7 0 — — 40 0
1989–90 30 1 6 0 8 0 3 0 47 1
1990–91 26 4 3 0 4 0 2 0 35 4
1991–92 31 3 7 1 — — — — 38 4
1992–93 31 2 8 0 10 1 1 0 50 3
1993–94 30 1 2 0 10 1 4 0 46 2
1994–95 29 2 1 0 11 0 2 0 43 2
1995–96 30 3 3 0 8 0 — — 41 3
1996–97 26 1 3 0 6 0 1 0 36 1
1997–98 30 0 7 0 — — — — 37 0
1998–99 31 1 2 0 — — — — 33 1
1999–00 27 1 4 0 6 0 1 0 38 1
2000–01 31 1 4 0 14 0 — — 49 1
2001–02 15 0 — — 4 0 — — 19 0
2002–03 29 2 1 0 19 0 — — 49 2
2003–04 30 0 — — 9 0 3 0 42 0
2004–05 33 0 — — 13 1 1 0 47 1
2005–06 14 2 — — 9 0 — — 23 2
2006–07 18 1 — — 9 0 — — 27 1
2007–08 17 1 — — 4 0 2 0 23 1
2008–09 30 0 — — 2 0 — — 32 0
Career Total 647 29 72 1 161 3 22 0 902 33
1European competitions include the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup
2Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup
3Play-off for UEFA Cup admission
International[edit source | editbeta]
[29]
Italy national team
Year Apps Goals
1988 10 0
1989 7 0
1990 11 0
1991 8 0
1992 7 0
1993 5 2
1994 12 0
1995 7 1
1996 7 0
1997 11 2
1998 11 1
1999 7 1
2000 11 0
2001 7 0
2002 5 0
Total 126 7
International goals[edit source | editbeta]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 January 1993 Florence, Italy Mexico 2–0 Win Friendly
2. 24 March 1993 Palermo, Italy Malta 6–1 Win FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualification
3. 11 November 1995 Bari, Italy Ukraine 3–1 Win UEFA Euro 1996 Qualification
4. 29 March 1997 Trieste, Italy Moldova 3–0 Win FIFA World Cup 1998 Qualification
5. 30 April 1997 Naples, Italy Poland 3–0 Win FIFA World Cup 1998 Qualification
6. 22 April 1998 Parma, Italy Paraguay 3–1 Win Friendly
7. 5 June 1999 Bologna, Italy Wales 4–0 Win UEFA Euro 2000 Qualification
Honours[edit source | editbeta]

Milan[edit source | editbeta]
Serie A (7): 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
Coppa Italia (1): 2002–03
Supercoppa Italiana (5): 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004
European Cup/Champions League (5): 1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94, 2002–03, 2006–07
UEFA Super Cup (5): 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007
Intercontinental Cup (2): 1989, 1990
FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2007
National team[edit source | editbeta]
FIFA World Cup Third-place: 1990
FIFA World cup Runners-up: 1994
UEFA European Football Championship: Runners-up 2000
Individual[edit source | editbeta]
Bravo Award: 1989
UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1988, 1996, 2000
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1990, 1994
UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match: 2003
1995 FIFA World Player of the Year: Silver Award
Ballon d'Or Bronze Award: 1994, 2003
World Soccer Player of the Year: 1994
Serie A Defender of the Year: 2004
FIFA 100
UEFA Team of the Year: 2003, 2005
FIFPro World XI: 2005
ESM Team of the Year: 1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–00, 2002–03
UEFA Champions League Best Defender: 2007
Italy captain: 1994–2002
UEFA Champions League Achievement Award: 2009
AC Milan all-time highest number of appearances: 902
UEFA Champions League Record of most appearances: 168
Serie A highest number of appearances: 647
Records[edit source | editbeta]
Most appearances in all competitions (A.C. Milan): 902[30]
Most league appearances (only Serie A regular-seasons): 647
Most league appearances for A.C. Milan (only Serie A regular-seasons): 647
Most UEFA club competitions appearances: 175
Most UEFA club competitions appearances for A.C. Milan: 175
Most European competitions appearances: 168
Most European competitions appearances for A.C. Milan: 168
Most UEFA Champions League appearances for A.C. Milan: 139
Most finals played in UEFA Champions League – 8 (tied with Francisco Gento)
Youngest first-team player (A.C. Milan): 16 years and 208 days (against Udinese, 20 January 1985)[31]
Longest-serving player (A.C. Milan): 24 years and 132 days (from 20 January 1985 to 31 May 2009)
Record of minutes played in the World Cups: 2216[32]
Fastest goal scored in UEFA Champions League/European Cup final history: 50 seconds, 2005
Orders[edit source | editbeta]
Ufficiale OMRI BAR.svg 4th Class / Officer: Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana:[33] 2000
Cavaliere OMRI BAR.svg 5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana:[34] 1991
References[edit source | editbeta]

^ a b "Paolo Maldini – AC Milan Player Profile". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
^ "Paolo Maldini". Talk Football. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
^ Williams, Richard (23 May 2007). "Maldini the fulcrum of Milan generation game". Guardian (London). Retrieved 28 May 2007.
^ "Paolo Maldini". UEFA. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
^ a b "Paolo Maldini". Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
^ "Maldini infinito: e sono 600" (in Italian). Gazzetta dello Sport. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
^ "Maldini sets record". soccernet.espn.go.com. 25 September 2005. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
^ "Anche il Parma frena il Milan" (in Italian). Gazzetta dello Sport. 16 February 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
^ "Maldini to quit at end of season". BBC Sport. 16 December 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
^ FourFourTwo. "Injured Maldini's career could be over". Retrieved 16 April 2008.
^ "Maldini to play for one more year". BBC. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
^ "Why Did Milan Ultras Insult Paolo Maldini?". goal.com. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
^ Marcotti, Gabriele (25 May 2009). "Paolo Maldini farewell not so fond from AC Milan hard core". The Times (London).
^ "Paolo Maldini: like father, like son". FIFA. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
^ Kelly, Cathal. "The monarch of defence". Toronto Star. Retrieved 6 May 2005.
^ Lewis, Sam (28 July 2011). "Legend of Calcio: Paolo Maldini". forzaitalianfootball.com. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
^ "Calcio: Lippi: Si' a gara addio Maldini ma non con Brasile" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
^ "Paolo Maldini nie chce pożegnalnego meczu w kadrze" (in Polish). sport.pl, based on La Gazzetta dello Sport. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
^ "AC Milan Legend Paolo Maldini Not Keen on Coaching". Goal.com. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
^ "Maldini: "I'll win the derby and finish off with the League"". La Gazetta dello Sport. 30 September 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
^ "Wilkins cool over Maldini rumours". BBC News. 18 June 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
^ Staff, Telegraph (30 June 2009). "Paolo Maldini rejects Chelsea coaching role". The Telegraph (London). Retrieved 30 June 2009.
^ Kuper, Simon (17 June 2011). "A football revolution". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
^ Alan Fraser (21 May 2007). "Everything perfect in the world of Milan's Maldini". Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 14 June 2010.
^ "Paolo il bello si sposa". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 14 December 1994. p. 40. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
^ Andrea Camboni (15 July 2008). "Paolo Maldini, quando il calcio diventa mitologia" (in Italian). Fondazione Italiani. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
^ "Allievi Nazionali squad". acmilan.com. Associazione Calcio Milan. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
^ "Esordienti 2001 squad". acmilan.com Associazione Calcio Milan. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
^ "Paolo Maldini – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
^ "Paolo Cesare Maldini" (in Italian). MagliaRossonera.it. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
^ "È Paolo Maldini il più giovane rossonero ad aver giocato in A". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 12 October 2006. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
^ "Maldini, l' atto di accusa del capitano" (in Italian). CORRIERE DELLA SERA. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
^ "Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
^ "Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
Preceded by
Iraq Younis Mahmoud La Gazzetta dello Sport's Facchetti Award
2008 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Franco Baresi A.C. Milan Captain
1997–2009 Succeeded by
Massimo Ambrosini
Preceded by
Franco Baresi Italy Captain
1994–2002 Succeeded by
Fabio Cannavaro
Preceded by
Carles Puyol UEFA Club Defender of the Year
2006–07 Succeeded by
Incumbent
[show]
Awards
[show]
Italy squads
Authority control
VIAF: 160029294
Categories: Italian footballersItaly international footballersA.C. Milan playersFIFA 100Association football defendersSerie A footballersUEFA Euro 1988 players1990 FIFA World Cup players1994 FIFA World Cup playersUEFA Euro 1996 players1998 FIFA World Cup playersUEFA Euro 2000 players2002 FIFA World Cup players1968 birthsLiving peopleFIFA Century ClubSportspeople from MilanWorld Soccer Magazine World Player of the Year winnersItaly under-21 international footballers
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