Paolo Maldini is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a left-back and central defender for A.C. Milan and the Italy national team. He played at a world class level for his entire career spanning two and a half decades.
Background
Paolo Cesare Maldini was born in Milan, Italy on June 26, 1968. Paolo's father Cesare formerly played for and captained Milan, and was a successful national under-21 manager, who also coached both Milan, and the senior national side during France 1998.
Career
Maldini made his debut for Italy in 1988, enjoying a 14-year career before retiring in 2002 with 7 goals and 126 caps, an appearance record at the time, which has since only been topped by Fabio Cannavaro in 2009 and Gianluigi Buffon in 2013. Maldini captained Italy for eight years and held the record for appearances made as Italy's captain, wearing the armband 74 times, until he was once again overtaken by Cannavaro, in 2010, and subsequently Buffon. With Italy, Maldini took part in three UEFA European Championship and four FIFA World Cups. Although he did not win a tournament with Italy, he reached the final of the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000, and the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1988. He was elected into the all-star teams for each of these tournaments, in addition to Euro 1996.
Maldini was also the Milan and Italy captain for many years and was considered a leader by fellow footballers, leading to the nickname "Il Capitano" ("The Captain"). Maldini holds the records for most appearances in Serie A, with 647, and also held the record for most appearances in UEFA Club competitions, with 174, until he was overtaken by Iker Casillas, who made his 175th European club appearance in 2017. He is also the record appearance holder for Milan with 902 appearances in all competitions.
He played at a world class level for his entire career spanning two-and-a-half decades. He spent all 25 seasons of his career in the Serie A with Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009.
Quotations:
"If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake."
"Every professional footballer should seek to play at least one game at Celtic Park. I have never felt anything like it."
"When I see Messi play, in my opinion, he should win the Ballon d'Or every year. He is an unbelievable player."
"I can say that Thiago Silva has no rival in his position. He is by far the best defender in the world. It’s a compliment for me to be compared to him."
"I like Pique a lot. He has class. He knows how to defend and also how to score. He is perfect in a duo with Carles Puyol."
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
"I always found it very difficult when I came up against Paolo Maldini. He was the best defender I faced over the course of my career. He definitely deserved to win the award FIFA World Player of the Year several times over."
— Ronaldo.
Connections
He has been married to Venezuelan former model Adriana Fossa since December 1994. The couple have two sons, Christian (born 14 June 1996) and Daniel (born 12 October 2001), who both have been signed by Maldini's former club Milan and played in the youth teams.
After winning his third Champions League title 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.
After winning his third Champions League title 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.
Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea"