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==References==
==References==
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==External links==
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Revision as of 19:28, 13 February 2008

Paolo Maldini
Personal information
Full name Paolo Maldini
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre back, Left back
Team information
Current team
 A.C. Milan
Number 3
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 18, 2002

Paolo Maldini (born 26 June 1968 in Milan) is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club A.C. Milan. The son of Cesare Maldini, he has spent his entire career with Milan, and is the most-selected player in both the history of the club and Serie A. He was named among Pelé's top 125 living footballers in 2004. On 16 December 2007, after winning the FIFA Club World Cup over Boca Juniors, he announced that he will retire at the end of the season.[1]

Maldini predominantly plays as a centre back although he sometimes plays at left back, which is his original position.

Club career

Maldini made his league debut on 20 January 1985, at the age of sixteen, against Udinese Calcio as a halftime substitution for Sergio Battistini.[2] It would be his only league appearance of the campaign, but he was in the starting eleven the following season.

The 1987–88 Scudetto marked Maldini's first major trophy, and the first of seven league titles, with the club.[3] He was also part of AC Milan's undefeated "Dream Team" from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.

In addition to winning his third Champions League and reaching the 1994 FIFA 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, Maldini called his milestone "a particular matter of pride because defenders generally receive so much less attention from fans and the media than goalscorers. We are more in the engine room rather than taking the glory."[4] He then singled out Milan captain Franco Baresi as a player who "really [deserved] to receive the sort of award I have received."[4]

Maldini played his 600th Serie A match (not including playoff matches) on 13 May 2007, in a 1–1 draw at Calcio Catania.[5] On 25 September 2005, Maldini broke Dino Zoff's Serie A appearance record after playing his 571st league match against Treviso F.B.C.[6]; seven days earlier, he had played his 800th game in all competitions for Milan.

Maldini has participated in eight UEFA Champions League finals during the course of his career, which is more than any other active player and near by one to a record held by Francisco Gento. He has lifted the championship trophy five times, the latest coming in Milan's 2–1 victory over Liverpool in the 2007 CL final on 23 May 2007. In an interview with ESPN that aired prior to the broadcast of the 2007 final, he labeled the 2005 final, which Milan lost on penalties to Liverpool in extra time after blowing a 3–0 lead, the worst moment of his career, even though he had scored the fastest-ever goal in a European Clubs' Cup final just 51 seconds into the match, in the process also becoming the oldest player ever to score in a final.

In November 2005, he announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2006–07 season, but relented and decided to stay on for one more year, making his impending retirement effective at the end of the 2007–08 campaign. Milan plan to retire his number 3 shirt, but it will be bequeathed to one of his sons if he makes the club's senior side.[7][8] His eldest son, Christian, is 12 years old and is currently playing for the Milan youth squad.

After lifting the FIFA Club World Cup 2007, Maldini announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2007–08 season, saying that he will do so with 'no regrets'.[9]

International career

Maldini is Italy's most capped player with 126 appearances, and all seven of his career international goals were scored in home matches. He spent over half of his 16 years as an international as team captain, and is also one of three current Milan players who have earned the most caps for their national teams, along with Cafu and Dario Šimić.

However, he never won a major title with the Azzurri. After Italy finished third as the host nation in the 1990 World Cup, Maldini played in his first and only WC final in 1994, which Italy lost to Brazil on penalties. Maldini also played a part in the less successful 1998 and 2002 World Cup campaigns, being eliminated in the quarterfinals and last 16, respectively.

Maldini was also a finalist in Italy's Euro 2000 squad that lost to France in the final. He had previously taken part in Euro 1996, while Italy failed to qualify for Euro 1992.

He announced his international retirement after Italy's exit from the 2002 World Cup. He later rejected Giovanni Trapattoni's request to return for Euro 2004 and subsequently rejected a similar request from Marcello Lippi for the successful 2006 World Cup campaign.

Honors

Career statistics

Career statistics correct as of 10 February 2008

Season Team Serie A Coppa Italia European Cups[10] Other Tournaments[11] Total
App G App G App G App G App G
1984–85 A.C. Milan 1 0 - - - - - - 1 0
1985–86 A.C. Milan 27 0 6 0 6 0 - - 39 0
1986–87 A.C. Milan 30 1 7 0 - - - - 37 1
1987–88 A.C. Milan 26 2 1 0 2 0 - - 29 2
1988–89 A.C. Milan 26 0 7 0 7 0 - - 40 0
1989–90 A.C. Milan 30 1 6 0 10 0 1 0 47 1
1990–91 A.C. Milan 26 4 3 0 5 0 1 0 35 4
1991–92 A.C. Milan 31 3 7 1 - - - - 38 4
1992–93 A.C. Milan 31 2 8 0 10 1 1 0 50 3
1993–94 A.C. Milan 30 1 2 0 12 1 2 0 46 2
1994–95 A.C. Milan 29 2 1 0 12 0 1 0 43 2
1995–96 A.C. Milan 30 3 3 0 8 0 - - 41 3
1996–97 A.C. Milan 26 1 3 0 6 0 1 0 36 1
1997–98 A.C. Milan 30 0 7 0 - - - - 37 0
1998–99 A.C. Milan 31 1 2 0 - - - - 33 1
1999–00 A.C. Milan 27 1 4 0 6 0 1 0 38 1
2000–01 A.C. Milan 31 1 4 0 14 0 - - 49 1
2001–02 A.C. Milan 15 0 - - 4 0 - - 19 0
2002–03 A.C. Milan 29 2 1 0 19 0 - - 49 2
2003–04 A.C. Milan 30 0 - - 10 0 2 0 42 0
2004–05 A.C. Milan 33 0 - - 13 1 1 0 47 1
2005–06 A.C. Milan 14 2 - - 9 0 - - 23 2
2006–07 A.C. Milan 21 1 - - 9 0 - - 27 1
2007–08 A.C. Milan 9 0 - - - - 1 0 4 0
Total 609 28 72 1 162 3 12 0 854 32

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 January, 1993 Florence, Italy  Mexico 2–0 Win Friendly
2. 24 March, 1993 Palermo, Italy  Malta 6–1 Win FIFA World Cup 1994 Qual.
3. 11 November, 1995 Bari, Italy  Ukraine 3–1 Win UEFA Euro 1996 Qual.
4. 29 March, 1997 Trieste, Italy  Moldova 3–0 Win FIFA World Cup 1998 Qual.
5. 30 April, 1997 Naples, Italy  Poland 3–0 Win FIFA World Cup 1998 Qual.
6. 22 April, 1998 Parma, Italy  Paraguay 3–1 Win Friendly
7. 5 June, 1999 Bologna, Italy  Wales 4–0 Win UEFA Euro 2000 Qual.

References

{{reflist}Media:Example.ogg}

Preceded by A.C. Milan Captain
1997- 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Italy Captain
1994–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Serie A Defender of the Year
2004 		Succeeded by


Template:Persondata

  1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/7146949.stm
  2. ^ "Maldini the fulcrum of Milan generation game". Guardian. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  3. ^ "Paolo Maldini". UEFA. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  4. ^ a b http://www.cs.wm.edu/~wm/maldini.html
  5. ^ "Maldini infinito: e sono 600" (in Italian). Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  6. ^ Source: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=343889&&cc=3888
  7. ^ "Paolo Maldini: like father, like son". FIFA. Retrieved 2005-02-08.
  8. ^ "The monarch of defence". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2005-05-06.
  9. ^ "Maldini to quit at end of season". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  10. ^ Including UEFA Cup, UEFA Champions League and European Super Cup
  11. ^ Including World Club Cup and Italian Super Cup
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