Grazie Il Capitano

2009 June 1
by rivai syahrir

PaoloMaldini

Paolo Cesare Maldini (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaːolo malˈdiːni]; born 26 June 1968 in Milan) is a former Italian footballer who is often considered to be one of the greatest defenders to have ever played the game. Having spent his entire club career at Milan, Maldini played for 25 years until the age of 40. In that time, he was a winning member of seven Italian Serie A championships, five UEFA Champions League Cups, five UEFA Super Cups and one FIFA World Club Cup.

Maldini’s key strengths as a player were his electric pace, the ability to execute precision tackles and his leadership influence on and off the pitch. The son of Cesare Maldini, he is the most-selected player in the history of the Milan Club, the Italian Serie A and the Italian national team, gaining 126 caps from 1988 to 2002.

Club career

Maldini made his league debut in the 1984-85 season on January 20, 1985, at the age of sixteen, against Udinese as a halftime substitution for the injured Sergio Battistini.[2][3] It was 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.[4] He was also part of 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.”[5] He then singled out Milan captain Franco Baresi as a player who “really [deserved] to receive the sort of award I have received.”[5]

Maldini played his 600th Serie A match on May 13, 2007, in a 1–1 draw at Catania.[6] On September 25, 2005, Maldini broke Dino Zoff’s Serie A appearance record after playing his 571st league match against Treviso;[7] seven days earlier, he had played his 800th game in all competitions for Milan. On February 16, 2008, Maldini reached 1,000 senior games with Milan and Italy when he entered as a substitute against Parma.[8]

Maldini has participated in eight UEFA Champions League finals during the course of his career, which is more than any other active player, and equals the record held by Francisco Gento, though Gento also appeared in a Cup Winners Cup final, bringing his total European finals to nine. Maldini has lifted the trophy five times, the latest coming in Milan’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the 2007 Champions League final on 23 May 2007 in Athens. 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.

Maldini announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2007-08 season, saying that he would do so with “no regrets.”[9] However, following Milan’s elimination from the Champions League by Arsenal in March, Maldini stated that he would possibly delay his retirement for at least a further year.[10] He signed an extension on June 6 that will keep him at Milan for the 2008–09 season.[11] On April 18, 2009 Maldini announced that he will be finally retiring at the end of the 2008–09 season. On May 17, in the Friuli stadium Maldini played his 900th official match for Milan in a league game against Udinese. Maldini’s last match in San Siro was on May 24, in a game lost 3-2 against Roma. His last appearance for Milan, and his last game as an active player was on May 31, 2009, in the last match of the season, against Fiorentina, which Milan won 2-0, Maldini was substituted in the dying stages of the match which was welcomed by a standing ovation and applause from all the supporters present and players of both sides.

Milan retired his number 3 shirt, but it will be bequeathed to one of his sons if one makes the club’s senior side.[12][13] His eldest son, Christian, currently plays for the Milan youth squad.

International career

In 1986, Maldini was called up by his father, Cesare, to the Italian U-21 side, where he earned twelve caps and scored five goals in two years. He made his Azzurri debut at the age of nineteen on 31 March 1988, in a 1-1 friendly draw against Yugoslavia, and made one appearance for Italy at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Maldini featured in all four of Italy’s games at Euro 1988, and participated in his first World Cup in 1990, where Italy lost to Argentina in the semifinals on penalties.

Maldini’s first international goal came in his 44th career match, in a 2-0 friendly win over Mexico on January 20, 1993. He captained Italy at the start of the 1994 World Cup, losing to Brazil in the final on penalties. He was named in the Team of the Tournament, 32 years after his father received the same honor at the 1962 FIFA World Cup. Euro 1996 would see Italy eliminated in the group stage, and the quarterfinals of the 1998 World Cup. Italy did reach the final of Euro 2000, but lost to France by a whisker; it was the closest that Maldini would come to winning a major tournament.

After Italy were eliminated in the 2002 World Cup round of sixteen, Maldini retired trophyless from international competition as Italy’s most capped player. He scored seven international goals, all coming in home games. He spent over half of his sixteen years as an international as team captain, wearing the armband a record 74 times.

In February 2009, Italian head coach Marcello Lippi declared his support for a testimonial match for Maldini, stating that it would give him a chance to play for the Azzurri for a final time.[14] Italian Football Federation offered him a place in the line-up in a friendly match against Northern Ireland. However, Maldini rejected the offer, saying that he wanted to part with football in an “official” match.[15]

Honours

[edit] Milan

[edit] National team

Individual

For Me , Paolo certainly the best left back ever in soccer and now he retired , and unfortunately in his last game some idiot ultras didn’t respect and put banners in said that the only captain for AC MILAN is Franco Baresi , former skipper before … damn . Are they forget about what Paolo gave to them ? they said , paolo doesn’t have a good relationship with them . Uhm well , i dunno exactly why Paolo do that , but it his right not to close to them because sometimes Ultras Fans can be pain in the ass .

Anyway … Grazie Il Capitano , you are a role model inside and outside pitch and we will miss you . We will your your son to continue Maldini’s Clan and in the mean time we hang your number 3 as big honour for you , Ciao.

Peace Out

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