ITALY | AC MILAN
Paolo Maldini played over 600 times for AC Milan and 127 times for the Italian national team. He won 7 league titles and 5 European Cups. He is widely regarded as one of the most talented defenders to ever play the game.
647
CLUB APPS
29
CLUB GOALS
126
INT APPS
7
INT GOALS
7
LEAGUE TITLES
1988 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1996 | 1999 | 2004
5
EUROPEAN CUP
1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007
0
BALLON D’OR
THIRD 1994, 2003
0
WORLD CUP
RUNNER UP 1994
Born in Milan in 1968, Paolo Maldini is the son of Cesare Maldini. Cesare played over 400 times for AC Milan, steering them to four Seria A titles and European Cup success. He also played for the Italian National team and captained them too, no pressure Paolo!
Having his father play for AC Milan and then joining their youth academy, meant young Paolo never left the city. Much like his playing career, Paolo spent his whole life in Milan. Growing up, Paolo one was of six children. He had two brothers and three sisters, and he was the only sibling to forge a football career.
It didn’t take long for Paolo to make his mark on the Milan first team. In 1984/85, he helped guide the Youth team to the Coppa Italia Primavera, the Italian youth cup. This led to his debut for the first team on January 20th 1985, aged just 16. It would be the only game he played for the first team that season, however, it set him up for the starting eleven the following season.
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Milan gave Maldini the number three shirt, the same number his father once wore. Interestingly, Paolo spent his first season as a right-back but eventually moved over to the left. He would make his debut in both the Coppa Italia and the European Cup that season, but he would have to wait until January 4th 1987 to score his first goal.
Paolo received a call up to the Italian Under-21 side, managed by his father, Cesare Maldini. His debut came against Austria on the November 12th 1986, with the game ending 0-0. Paolo endured at a successful time with the under-21 side. He played a total of 12 games for them, scoring five times.
The under-21’s came runners up in the 1986 European Championships, with Spain going on to win the competition. Unfortunately in 1988, they were knocked out of the under 21 European Championship in the first round.
THE IMMORTALS
Maldini’s first taste of league success came in 1987/88. The squad of players became known as “The Immortals”. Paolo won his first league title alongside, Rijkaard, Ancelotti, Van Basten, Baresi and Ruud Gullit. A period of dominance for AC Milan ensued, not just in Italy but also in Europe. They won the 1988 Supercoppa Italiana and the European Cup in 1988/89 and 1989/90. Over the following years, Alessandro Nesta was introduced to the team. Maldini would go on to form a fantastic relationship with the defender.
By this point in his career, Maldini was a well-established player on the Italian national side. He has been to the 1998 European Championships and the 1990 World Cup, making it to the semi-finals in both competitions.
The decade’s turn brought about change at Milan which saw Fabio Capello take the club’s reigns. He had a fantastic start which saw Milan win the 1991/92 Serie A title. On top of this, they would go unbeaten for 58 games, and the Italian sporting press branded them ‘The Invincibles’. This side won three consecutive Seria A titles and reached three successive Champions League finals from 92/93-94/95.
EUROPEAN CUP
Milan would lose the first Champions League final 1-0 to Marseille at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. However, the following year, they met Barcelona in the final at another Olympic Stadium, but this time in Athens. Milan beat Barcelona 4-0, and this was Maldini’s second Champions League win. Unfortunately, he couldn’t win his third Champions League trophy as his side was beaten 1-0 by Ajax in 1995.
By this time, Maldini was considered one of the greatest defenders in world football. He came third in the 1994 Ballon d’Or and fifth in FIFA World Player Of The Year. He had great ability with both feet. Even though he played left-back, he was right-footed. It made him a formidable defender to get past. During his younger days as a full back, his attacking play was also a key component of his game. He was able to get up and down the pitch and was excellent at crossing.
During his successful time in the early ’90s with Milan, Maldini was also doing great with the national side. He was named vice-captain to Franco Baressi and helped get the side to the World Cup final in 1994. However, once again, they fell just short. It wasn’t all bad news though, Baressi retired from international football after this, and the captain’s armband was passed on the Maldini.
1995 was the year Capello departed from Milan after winning another title, which would be Maldini’s fifth in total. The next few years at the club would be challenging as they failed to qualify for Europe in 94/95 and 95/96. At the start of 97/98, Maldini was made club captain following Baressi’s retirement. He won his first league trophy as captain in 98/99 but struggled in the seasons that followed.
WORLD CUP FAILURE
Heartache continued for Maldini on the international front. Italy were knocked out of the 1998 World Cup by France, who went on to win the tournament. They were beaten on penalties; it was the third consecutive international tournament that Maldini and Italy had been sent home from due to spot-kicks!
At the start of the millennium, a new man was in charge of Milan – Ex-player Carlo Ancelotti. The manager rebuilt the side and signed Jaap Stam from Man United to fortify his already powerful defence. Maldini won the Champions League for his first time as captain in 2003. Milan took on Juventus in what became known as the most boring Champions League final in history. The game ended 0-0 with Milan going on to win 3-2 on penalties. He lifted the biggest trophy in club football as the captain of his beloved Milan.
He captained Italy to one more World Cup in 2002, but they were knocked out by co-hosts South Korea. A disappointing way for them to go out and thus, Maldini decided to retire at age 34. He would leave the national team as the most capped Italian player.
MY CUP RUNNETH OVER
With his attention focused solely on Milan, they started to get back to the top. They won the 2003 Serie A, Maldini once again came third in the Ballon d’Or. In 2004 Maldini won tenth place in a UEFA survey for the best European footballers over the past 50 years.
In 2005 Maldini was put in the UEFA team of the year for the second time. His side would once again reach the Champions League final. This is one of the most memorable finals of all time. Maldini’s side found themselves 3-0 up at half time against Liverpool, with Paolo opening the scoring. However, his side let this lead slip and lost on penalties after Liverpool scored three second-half goals.
Maldini got the chance to put things right in 2007. The two sides once again met in the final of the Champions League. Milan won 2-1, and this was his fifth Champions League final win. Maldini set a new record as the oldest captain to win the competition (aged 38).
LAST SEASON FOR MILAN
Maldini’s last season in football was 2008/09. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t a successful one, his side won nothing. His last game came against Fiorentina in a 2-0 win. Milan finished third that season and qualified for the Champions League. To honour the player, Milan retired Maldini’s number but reserved the right to bring it out of retirement if any future members of the Maldini family should ever play for the first team.
The Milan captain had a fantastic career spanning over three decades. He won seven Serie A’s and five Champions League. Maldini represented Milan 902 times scoring 33 goals and 126 games for the national side scoring seven times.
After retiring, Maldini took a few years out of the game and even coached at Chelsea under Carlo Ancelotti. Maldini has made it clear that he had no desire to go into management.
He’s featured in several matches to raise money for different charities. In 2017 he took up a completely different sport – tennis. He qualified for the Aspria Tennis Cup which was held in Milan of all places. The professional tournament is part of the ATP Challenger Tour. Maldini took part in the doubles but was beaten in the first round 6-1, 6-1.
The following year he accepted a role at Milan as the Sporting Strategy and development director. As of June 2019, Maldini is still the clubs sporting director.
Like his father Cesare, Maldini got to see his son Daniel play for Milan. Daniel made his debut against Hellas Verona on February 2nd 2020 and has since made seven appearances. Unlike his father and grandfather, Daniel is an attacking midfielder.
QUOTES: He was very young, so I tried to give him some advice. But he needed very little; he was already a great player - Franco Baresi He’s a real Rossonero. His soul belongs to Milan - Cesare Maldini There’s never been a better left-back in the game’s history. Two-footed, and at his peak, brilliant going forward. - Ronald Koeman
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