Debut of a future legend
On January 20th, 1985, AC Milan played a Serie A match against Udinese. At half-time, Udinese were leading 1-0, and AC Milan defender Sergio Battistini was unable to continue due to injury.
For the second half, Battistini was replaced by one 16-year-old youngster, Paolo Maldini. AC Milan then equalized and the match ended 1-1. That was Paolo Maldini's first taste of senior football.
From the following season, 1985/86, he became a permanent part of the Rossoneri lineup. And so it remained for the next quarter century, until 2009 when Paolo Maldini ended his career at the age of 41.
One-club man
Paolo Maldini spent all 25 seasons of his playing career in Serie A with AC Milan. He is one of the most prominent so-called 'one-club men' in world football. A one-club man is a footballer who has played his entire professional career with only one club.
Besides Maldini, the most famous one-club men are Ryan Giggs (Manchester United, 963 matches) and Francesco Totti (AS Roma, 786 matches).
Of Paolo Maldini's 902 starts for the Rossoneri, 647 were in the Italian league. He held the record for appearances in Serie A until he was surpassed by Gianluigi Buffon in 2020. Maldini is also one of the players with the most appearances for Italy (126), only bettered by Gianluigi Buffon (176) and Fabio Cannavaro (136).
Paolo Maldini didn't win any major trophies in the azure blue jersey of Italy (he was no longer in the Italian squad for the victorious 2006 World Cup) but he won a lot of trophies with AC Milan.
With the Rossoneri, he won a total of 26 trophies (including the Champions League/European Cup five times, seven Serie A titles, and one Club World Cup). And what style of play has he used to achieve this longevity and success?
Role model for all defenders
Paolo Maldini was renowned for his speed, stamina, sliding tackles, and aerial abilities. He was also an excellent attacker as he scored many goals (40).
Although he played as a left-back for most of his career, Maldini was right-footed and began playing for AC Milan as a right-back. He was switched to the left-back position by manager Arrigo Sacchi due to Mauro Tassotti occupying the right side of the Milan backline.
In the final few years of his career, as he lost his speed, he was moved to a centre-back position, where he excelled in relying on his experience, anticipation, aerial prowess, and tackling to stop opponent attackers.
Footballing royal family
Paolo Maldini is neither the first nor the last in his family to play for AC Milan or the Italian national team. His father, Cesare Maldini, was also a Rossoneri legend and an Italian national team player.
Cesare Maldini played for AC Milan from 1954 and he captained the team to four Serie A titles and one European Cup during his 12 seasons with the club. Internationally, he played for Italy, participating in the 1962 World Cup. Cesare served as team captain for both AC Milan and Italy. And like Paolo, Cesare played as a defender. Cesare died in 2016 at the age of 84.
The successors of the Maldini football family are the sons of Paolo, Christian (born in 1996) and Daniel (born in 2001). They both played for AC Milan’s youth teams. Later, Christian went on to play at a lower level whereas Daniel stayed at AC Milan a bit longer.
Daniel progressed into AC Milan's first team at the age of 19. In 2020, he made his debut for the Rossoneri. However, he did not fully establish himself in the squad. He went on several loan spells (Spezia, Empoli and Monza). His last loan spell at Monza eventually turned into a transfer in the summer of 2024.
In October 2024, Daniel received his first call-up to the Italy national team and also made his debut for the Azzurri. All three generations of Maldini - Cesare, Paolo and Daniel - have already played for AC Milan and Italy. Daniel, however, unlike his father and grandfather, plays as an attacking midfielder.
AC Milan and tennis
After ending his football career, Paolo Maldini continued to pursue sports. He even took up tennis at a professional level. He also stayed in football, as an administrator.
What's more, he returned to his beloved club, AC Milan. From 2018, Paolo Maldini worked as the sporting director and in 2019 he was promoted to technical director. In 2022 he helped deliver the club’s first Scudetto (Serie A title) in 11 years.
Maldini then left the management of AC Milan in 2023. However, it's for sure that Paolo’s departure and also the subsequent transfer of his son Daniel to Monza are not the final stories written by the Maldinis at AC Milan.