Paolo Maldini

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Maldini was a one-club man, spending all 25 seasons of his playing career in Serie A with Milan and 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. He won the Best Defender award at the UEFA Club Football Awards at the age of 39, as well as the Serie A Defender of the Year Award in 2004. Following his retirement, Milan retired his number 3 shirt. He made his debut for Italy in 1988 and played for 14 years before retiring in 2002 with 7 goals and 126 caps. He held the record for appearances with Italy until he was surpassed by Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon. Maldini captained Italy for eight years and held the record for appearances as Italy's captain with 75, until he was again surpassed by Cannavaro and Buffon. With Italy, he took part in four FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships, reaching the final of the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000 and the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1988. He came second to George Weah for FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995, and third in the Ballon d'Or rankings in 1994 and 2003. In 2002, he was named in the FIFA World Cup Dream Team. In 2004, Pelé named him in the FIFA 100 list. He was ranked 21st in World Soccer magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century. He was also named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020. Maldini held the record for most appearances in UEFA Club competitions, with 174, until he was surpassed by Iker Casillas in 2017. He holds the record for appearances with Milan (902) 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.

In Their Own Story

In 1978, at the age of 10, Maldini had his first tryout for AC Milan's youth academy. Before that, he had only played street football. He successfully played the test game as a right midfielder or winger in the 4–4–2 formation and was accepted into his age group's squad. He continued playing in this position until the age of 14, when he was moved to right full-back. Due to him being good on the ball with both feet, he would sometimes be fielded on the left side as well. He made his league debut for Milan under manager Nils Liedholm on 20 January 1985, replacing the injured Sergio Battistini in a match against Udinese at age 16. The following season, at age 17, he was handed the number 3 shirt, which had previously belonged to his father, Cesare. He scored the first of his 29 goals in Serie A on 4 January 1987 in a 1–0 win against Como. Under Arrigo Sacchi, Maldini won his first Scudetto in 1987–88, with Milan conceding only 14 goals that season. He went on to win back-to-back European Cup titles in 1988–89 and 1989–90. Under Fabio Capello, Maldini was part of Milan's undefeated Serie A team in 1991–92, which went unbeaten for an Italian record of 58 league matches, earning the nickname "The Invincibles." He helped Milan win three consecutive Serie A titles and reach three consecutive Champions League finals, including a 4–0 victory over Barcelona's "Dream Team" in 1994. After winning his third Champions League title and reaching the 1994 World Cup final, Maldini became the first defender ever to win World Soccer magazine's annual World Player of the Year Award. During his acceptance speech, he called his milestone "a particular matter of pride because defenders generally receive so much less attention from fans and the media than goalscorers." Following Franco Baresi's retirement after the 1996–97 season, Maldini was appointed Milan's captain.

Reader's Guide

Paolo Maldini's real-life career is defined by an unprecedented loyalty to AC Milan, where he spent his entire professional journey from 1985 until 2009. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, nicknamed "Il Capitano" as the Milan and Italy captain for many years. His achievements include five European Cup/Champions League titles, 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. He won the Best Defender award at the UEFA Club Football Awards at age 39 and the Serie A Defender of the Year Award in 2004. He held the record for Serie A appearances (647) until 2020, and holds the joint-record for most Champions League final appearances (8). He holds the record for appearances with Milan (902) and is one of the few players to have made over 1,000 career appearances. With Italy, he made 126 appearances and scored 7 goals, captaining the side for eight years with 75 appearances as captain. He took part in four World Cups and three European Championships, reaching the 1994 World Cup final and Euro 2000 final. He came second for FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995 and third in the Ballon d'Or in 1994 and 2003. He was named in the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, the FIFA 100 in 2004, and the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020. In December 2012, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Did You Know?

• Maldini held the record for appearances in Serie A with 647 until Gianluigi Buffon surpassed him in 2020.
• He holds the joint-record for most European Cup/UEFA Champions League final appearances with 8, alongside Paco Gento.
• Maldini became the first defender ever to win World Soccer magazine's annual World Player of the Year Award in 1994.
• He made his Serie A debut at age 16 on 20 January 1985, replacing the injured Sergio Battistini against Udinese.
• Maldini's number 3 shirt was retired by AC Milan following his retirement in 2009.