Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini

Paolo Cesare Maldini (born 26 June 1968) is a former Italian footballer who played as a left or central defender. Paulo Maldini is the son of Cesare Maldini, an ex-AC Milan player who captained his team to victory in the European Cup finals in 1963, and went on to manage the national team. 

Despite his father’s links to AC Milan, as a youngster, Paulo was a fan of Turin team Juventus, home of his hero Roberto Bettega. However, after showing promise in the left-wing position, he was able to secure a place in the AC Milan youth programme (possibly through the influence of his father).

In January 1985, the Milan first team was plagued with injury, and for a match against Udinese, then manager Nils Lidholm decided to give 16-year old Maldini a spot on the substitutes' bench. When Sergio Battistini got injured and came off at half-time, Maldini got  his first appearance for the club that was to become such a huge part of his life and identity.

Although the teenager made no further appearances that season, he developed quickly, and found himself first choice in the left back position in the following 1985-86 season. The 1987–88 Scudetto marked Maldini's first trophy. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 40 in 2009. 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.  During that period, Maldini 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. Milan retired his number 3 shirt, but it will be bequeathed to one of his sons if one makes the club's senior side.

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's first international goal came in his 44th career match, in a 2–0 friendly win over Mexico on 20 January 1993. 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.

Full name	Paolo Cesare Maldini
Date of birth	26 June 1968
Place of birth	Milan, Italy
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Defender
Nationality	Italy
Caps	126 (7 goals)
Career	AC Milan (1985-2009)
Wife	Adriana Fossa
Children	Christian Maldini (born 1996)
	Daniel Maldini (born 2001)

Honours

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

Individual

Under-21 European Footballer of the Year: 1989

FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament: 1994

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

Serie A Defender of the Year: 2004

FIFA 100

UEFA Team of the Year: 2003, 2005

ESM Team of the Year: 1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–2000, 2002–03

FIFPro World XI: 2005

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

Paolo Maldini-Champion League

Reference : en.wikipedia.org & www.talkfootball.co.uk