Icons: Paolo Maldini
It's time to explore the life of another football icon.
This time it's Paolo Cesare Maldini
Paolo Maldini is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left-back and centre-back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time.
As the Milan and Italy captain for many years, he was nicknamed "Il Capitano" ("The Captain"). Maldini held the record for most appearances in Serie A, with 647, until 2020, when he was overtaken by Gianluigi Buffon. He is currently serving as technical director for Milan, as well as being co-owner of USL Championship club Miami FC.
A true one-club man...
Maldini spent all 25 seasons of his playing career in the Serie A with Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009. He won 26 trophies with Milan: the European Cup/UEFA Champions League five times, seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana titles, five European/UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup. Maldini won the Best Defender trophy at the UEFA Club Football Awards at the age of 39, as well as the Serie A Defender of the Year Award in 2004.
Final match and retirement for his club
His last appearance for Milan was a 2–0 win against Fiorentina in May 2009 in the last match of the Serie A season. This win meant Milan finished in third place and qualified for the following season's Champions League.
The video below contains some of his best moments from his club and international career. You can find more on his history with Italy in the video below.
Summary of his international career
Maldini made his debut for Italy in 1988. He played for his country for 14 years before he retired in 2002 with 7 goals and 126 caps. This was an appearance record at the time that has since been surpassed by Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon. Maldini captained Italy for eight years and held the record for appearances as Italy's captain until he was again overtaken by Cannavaro and Buffon.
With Italy, Maldini was involved in four FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships. 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 at all of these tournaments, in addition to Euro 1996.
Individual accolades and records
Maldini came second to George Weah for FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995. He also placed third in the Ballon d'Or in 1994 and 2003. In 2002, he was chosen as a defender on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team, and in 2004 Pelé named him in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. He was also selected for the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020.
Maldini held the record for most appearances in UEFA Club competitions, with 174, until he was overtaken by Iker Casillas in 2017. He is the record appearance holder for Milan with 902 appearances in all competitions and is one of the few players to have made over 1,000 career appearances. In December 2012, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.
The art of tackling
A lot of people claimed he made tackling and defending an art form. The video below shows a true artist at work.
One YouTuber commented: "There are 3 types of sliding tackles: to clear the ball away, to block the shot, and to dispossess. Maldini mastered all three with such finesse. But the dispossessing sliding tackle are the most satisfying to watch."
One AC Milan man told us: "My favourite player. He was awesome for club and country for so long. We still miss him as a player but it's great that his insight is used within football."
