PAOLO MALDINI Born: 26th June 1968. Position: Left back/ Central defender. Caps: Italy 126 (1988-2002) / 7 goals League Games: Italy 568 (1984-2005) / 28 goals European Cup Games: Milan 130 (1988-2005)/ 3 goals European Footballer of the Year: 1989 (23rd), 1992 (14th), 1993 (7th), 1994 (3rd), 1995 (7th), 1996 (22nd), 2000 (10th), 2003 (3rd), 2004 (28th) Italian Footballer of the Year: Never Clubs: Milan Trophies & Tournaments: World Cup winner: Never World Cup runner-up: 1994 World Cup participation: 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 European Championship runner-up: 2000 European Championship participation: 1988, 1996, 2000 Italian Champion: 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994 ,1996, 1999, 2004 Italian runner-up: 1990, 1991 European Cup winner: 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003 European Cup runner-up: 1993, 1995, 2005 Paolo Maldini began his Milan career at the tender age of 16, joining the club that his father Cesare had captained to glory in the 1960s. At the time Milan were in dire straights, but were saved by media mogul Silvio Berlusconi who poured millions into the club and allowed coach Arrigo Saachi to assemble one of the most gifted squads ever seen. At its heart were the Dutch trio of Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard and the twin defensive towers of Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini. In the 1987/88 season Milan’s defence was the key as they won their first title in 9 years, conceding just 14 goals in the process. In 1988 Maldini made his first appearance in a major finals. Italy opened against the hosts West Germany which resulted in a 1-1 draw, before tight victories against Spain 1-0 and Denmark 2-0. Italy were through to the semis but they were seen off by a strong Soviet Union team, with two quick second half goals. The following season Milan captured the European Cup in true style. Although they had scraped past Red Star Belgrade in the second round on penalties, they switched into overdrive as the competition progressed thrashing Real Madrid 5-0 in the semi final and Steau Bucharest 4-0 in the final. Milan added the Super Cup to their achievements defeating Barcelona before successfully defending their European Cup. Again they faced Real Madrid but beat them 2-1 over two legs and also defeated Bayern Munich en route to the final against Benfica which was won thanks to a single frank Rijkaard goal. Italy went into the 1990 World Cup full of confidence that they would recapture the trophy on home soil. The team was one of the strongest Italy had produced in some years, and combined the attacking genius of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Baggio with the impeccable defensive credentials of Baresi, Bergomi and Maldini. They opened with routine dismissals of Austria, Czechoslovakia and the USA to progress to the second round. They then defeated Uruguay and the Republic of Ireland to enter the semifinals. They were yet to concede a goal and the surprise package of the tournament Toto Schillachi was in superb form. Against Argentina the script was followed in the first half as following a wonderful move involving Giannini and Vialli, Schillachi put Italy ahead with a poachers goal. However, in the second half the unthinkable happened: Italy conceded a goal. Canniggia leapt high above Zenga and took the match to penalties. Sadly Italy lost due in much to the superb Goycochea. The 1991/2 season saw Milan in sensational form as they swept to Lo Scudetto without a single defeat. Maldini was at the heart of the victory, marshalling the defence alongside the peerless Baresi.The following season the retained their title and set a new European record of 55 games unbeaten. They also swept to the European Cup final, winning all 10 games and scoring 23 goals while conceding just 1, where they faced Marseille. The game was an uninspired affair which was won by Marseille through a Basile Boli header just before half time. And saw the end of the great Marco Van Basten’s career. The next year Milan again retained Lo Scudetto, with the defence to the fore, this time conceding just 15 goals in 34 league games. They also reached the European cup final again, although were widely written off before the game against Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona “Dream Team”. Despite the doubts and the absence of Baresi and Costacurta Milan demolished Barca 4-0 and Maldini again turned in a faultless display. That summer Italy went to the USA in search of a record fourth WC title. In their first game they suffered a major shock as Ireland’s Ray Houghton scored a great early goal which won the game. They rallied to defeat Norway in the next game before drawing with Mexico and creating perhaps the closest group in WC history. Italy squeezed through on goals scored to face Nigeria. In this game they were saved by Roberto Baggio who scored in the 89th minute and then again in extratime to progress to the quarters where they faced Spain. Again it took Roberto Baggio to save Italy with a last gasp goal. The semi final against Bulgaria was a slightly more routine affair as Italy went two up early on and bulgaira could not respond. The final was a dull contest which ended with the WC final’s first penalty shootout. Again Italy were unlucky and Brazil captured the cup. In 1995 Milan reached their third EC final in a row but lost to a late Patrick Kluivert goal. In 1996 Maldini added yet another Scudetto and yet again performed superbly. The 1996 European Championship was major disappointment for Italy and they failed to get out of their group, mainly due to some dismal tactical decisions by coach Saachi. The next two years saw Milan bizarrely finish 11th and 10th as vast swathes of players were brought to the club and failed to establish themselves. At France 1998 Italy were yet again eliminated on penalties, having started brightly this time by the eventual champions France. The Italians had contained the French despite the return of their mercurial genius Zinedine Zidane. After a tight 0-0 draw the Italians yet again slipped out. 1999 saw Milan back in form with new coach Alberto Zaccheroni and they managed to snatch the title with a phenomenal late surge thanks as much to the defence as to the brilliance of George Weah and Zvonomir Boban. At Euro 2000 Italy again reached the final after a superb run. Italy beat Turkey, Belgium and Sweden in the group stage before dismissing Romania 2-0 in the quarters. They faced joint-hosts Holland in the semi-final and were lucky to take the game to penalties, as the Dutch missed two penalties in normal time. The game went to penalties and the Italians finally achieved a success as the Dutch penalty misery continued. Although Maldini himself missed a penalty it was not important. The final itself saw further heartbreak for Maldini. Italy led initially through a Marco Delvecchio goal, but conceded a 90th minute goal before David Trezeguet scored in extra-time to ruin the Azzuri’s dream. The next two seasons saw Milan achieve Champions League finished but no spectacular successes, and in 2002 Maldini led Italy to Japan/Korea as one of the strong favourites. Italy though only scraped through the first round after a shock loss to Croatia and disappointing draw with Mexico. In the second round Italy were eliminated by South Korea with Maldini uncharacteristically at fault for Ahn Jung-Hwan’s late extra time goal. It was to be the end of his international career. The following season Milan were in superb form in Europe, doing (characteristically) just enough in every round to progress to the knock out stage having seen off the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Deportivo La Coruna. In the quarter finals Milan were drawn with a bright young Ajax team, but overcame them thanks in large part to an injury time goal by Jon Dahl Tommason. In the semi-finals Milan were drawn with bitter city rivals in a tie that was to produce a lasting trivia question. The first match ended 0-0, and the the second 1-1 but Milan won on away goals despite the fact that the clubs shared the Giuseppe Meazza San Siro. The final started brightly, but became a game for the purists as Maldini and his new partner Nesta conspired to nullify a Juventus team missing the creative genius of Pavel Nedved. Milan prevailed on penalties after an excellent display by Dida, and Maldini had won his 4th European Cup. What made it all the sweeter was the fact that he emulated his father Cesare who had captained Milan to European Cup glory 40 years earlier at Wembley. The next season Milan were almost unstoppable in Serie A, with the additions of World Cup winning Brazilians Kaka and Cafu added to the European Champions. In the Champions League it appeared to be a procession for Milan to march to another trophy but after beating Depor 4-1 at the San Siro, Milan were humbled 4-0 at the Riazor and crashed out. They were able though to recapture their first league title in 5 years. In the 2004/5 season Milan added Jaap Stam to the ageing defence with the hope of suring up an area of slight concern. They were drawn in a tough CL group along with Celtic, Shaktar Donetsk and many people’s favourites Barca. Milan won their first 3 group games in style to effectively guarantee their progress to the next round. Their reward for topping the group was an encounter with Manchester United, in superb Premiership form after a slow start. Milan put together a masterclass, epitomised by the passing of Andrea Pirlo, to see of United, thanks to a goal in each leg from on loan striker Hernan Crespo. This set up a tie with city rivals Inter, and after a 2-0 victory in their “home leg” Milan took the lead in the second tie through Andriy Shevchenko. This sent the Inter fans into a frenzy and the Milan goalie Dida was later hit with a flare causing the game to be abandoned and Milan awarded the tie. After a surprisingly tough match against PSV Eindhoven, Milan met Liverpool in the final in search of a 7th CL title. Early on Milan were awarded a free kick near the edge of Liverpool’s box, and the cross in was met on the volley by Maldini to score a stunning goal. After superb work by Kaka, Crespo put the Italians further ahead, 3-0 up at the break. But then in a miraculous 10 minute spell Liverpool somehow managed to level the match and force extra-time. Milan pressed continuously and thought they had scored through Shevchenko but Jerzy Dudek, the Liverpool keeper, made an astonishing save. In the resulting penalty shootout Liverpool held their nerve to record the most unlikely of comebacks. It was a cruel blow for Maldini, bidding for a 5th CL crown, he had put in a flawless display but the Milan players were philosophical after the game. Maldini has been the ultimate defender for almost 20 years and he is still going strong. In his prime he was exceptionally athletic and marauded up and down the left touchline, these days he has added great vision to his game. However, his professionalism and love of the game has never diminished and he continues to give his all for his beloved Milan. When Maldini eventually calls it a day he will be missed like no other, a man whose career has been inextricably linked to the club which both he and his father before him captained with such wonderful success. League Statistics Season-Club-Games-Goals 1984/85 AC Milan............01 / 00 1985/86 AC Milan............27 / 00 1986/87 AC Milan............30 / 01 1987/88 AC Milan............26 / 02 1988/89 AC Milan............26 / 00 1989/90 AC Milan............30 / 01 1990/91 AC Milan............26 / 04 1991/92 AC Milan............31 / 03 1992/93 AC Milan............31 / 02 1993/94 AC Milan............30 / 01 1994/95 AC Milan............29 / 02 1995/96 AC Milan............30 / 03 1996/97 AC Milan............26 / 01 1997/98 AC Milan............30 / 00 1998/99 AC Milan............31 / 01 1999/00 AC Milan............27 / 04 2000/01 AC Milan............31 / 01 2001/02 AC Milan............15 / 00 2002/03 AC Milan............29 / 02 2003/04 AC Milan............30 / 00 2004/05 AC Milan............32 / 00 International Club Games 1985/86 AC Milan...ECIII...06 / 00 1987/88 AC Milan...ECIII...02 / 00 1988/89 AC Milan...ECI.....07 / 00 1989/90 AC Milan...ECI.....08 / 00 1990/91 AC Milan...ECI.....04 / 00 1992/93 AC Milan...ECI.....10 / 01 1993/94 AC Milan...ECI.....10 / 01 1994/95 AC Milan...ECI.....11 / 00 1995/96 AC Milan...ECIII...08 / 00 1996/97 AC Milan...ECI.....06 / 00 1999/00 AC Milan...ECI.....06 / 00 2000/01 AC Milan...ECI.....14 / 00 2001/02 AC Milan...ECIII...04 / 00 2002/03 AC Milan...ECI.....19 / 00 2003/04 AC Milan...ECI.....09 / 00 2004/05 AC Milan...ECI.....13 / 01
Fun fact about Maldini- He actually joined the Milan youth system as a striker, and always played on the right. He even said himself that if he had stayed a striker, he probably would've never become a great player. The youth coach converted him into a left-back.
Here is a link to the master thread of profiles. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=232370
Could someone tell me why Maldini took that lousy PK at Euro200 with his Left Foot and not with his right (since it has been told that he is natuarly a righty)?
what a great player is he. Italy and Italians should be proud of him . i used to see Marco Van Basten as the best player or the most player i would love to meet or to get his signature until suddenlly i admired Paolo Maldini . his words to Chelsea in the mid of the 90s hit me so emotionally. Maybe because it was the first time to hear about Player saying Milan is My Life and i would not play for Chelsea . unfair ! Maldini as i've read was a Juve fan and his dad forced him to join Milan .. I felt sorry for him when he was smiling and preparing to lift the European Cup 2000 .. and almost cried when he was passing by the CL trophy heading down in 2005 .. this is the last season , and i hope he can win something .