TEAMS PLAYED FOR
AC Milan ( Italy ): 1984 – 2009
AC Milan ( Italy ): 1978 – 1985 (Youth Career)
BIO
Paolo Maldini is not only one of the legends of AC Milan. He is much more than that. Maldini has been a part of the greatest 20 years in team history. Even after retirement, he is still the face of the team, it’s symbol.
From the very early age, Paolo dreamed of becoming a soccer player like his father Cesare, who was also a famous Milan player. Back then it was hard to imagine that Paolo was destined to overshadow his father’s achievements by becoming one of the great defenders in the history of world soccer
Maldini’s soccer life is in essence a unique example of absolute success, ideal career. It is probably impossible to find another example of such. Being a son of the famous soccer player, it seems Paolo was destined to be a “golden child”. However, Paolo was not only gifted to be born into a famous family, but he also possessed unique soccer talent. Paolo’s spent his whole career, almost quarter century, playing for one team, going from a rookie on the youth team to the captain of AC Milan and Italy National Team. This type of commitment is very hard to come by in soccer, especially at AC Milan, the team who historically would rather purchase expensive players from other teams than develop their own.
More so, Maldini’s 25 year tenure at Milan coincided with the time Sylvio Berlusconi spent as the President of the club. Thanks to Berlusconi and his sound way of running Milan business, the team has become one of the greatest teams in history of soccer. Playing for one team, Maldini won every trophy possible. Surprisingly, Paolo never experienced any ups and downs. His career kept going up and up to the top where he stayed for the last ten years. What is even more amazing is his agility and ability to avoid serious injury on the field.
CLUB CAREER
Maldini’s adult career began on January 20th, 1985, when Milan ’s coach, Nils Lindholm, decided to put the 16-year old as a halftime substitution in the away game against Udinese. Actually, this game was his only game in that year, however in 1986, he became the main left-back defender on the team, the role he played for the next 25 years.
Playing for Milan , Maldini became one of the constituent parts in the legendary team of Sylvio Berlusconi, the team that won everything there was to win on a club level: numerous Seria A championships, Champions League, Intercontinental Cup, Italian Cup, Italian Super Cup. All in all, Paolo played 648 games for AC Milan… an amazing achievement!
NATIONAL TEAM CAREER
When Maldini turned 19, he was invited to the National Team and played his first game on March 31st, 1988 against Yugoslavia . He played at 1988 Olympics, 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups and 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 Euro competitions. Maldini scored 7 goals for the National Team and retired after 2002 World Cup.
PERSONAL INFO
Paolo Maldini has a huge family. He has two brothers and three sisters. Paolo is married to model Adriana Fossa and has two sons, Christian and Daniel. Maldini owns a video game store and a discotheque.
TITLES AND AWARDS
AC Milan
Seria A: 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
Coppa Italia: 2002 – 2003
Supercoppa Italiana: 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004
UEFA Champions League: 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007
UEFA Super Cup: 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007
International
FIFA 100
UEFA Team of the Year: 2003, 2005
FIFPro World XI: 2005
Italy Captain: 1994 – 2002
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