20 Facts About Cesare Maldini

Cesare Maldini was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender.

Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Triestina, before transferring to AC Milan in 1954, whom he captained to win four Serie A league titles and one European Cup during his twelve seasons with the club.

Cesare Maldini retired in 1967, after a season with Torino.

Cesare Maldini served as team captain for both Milan and Italy.

Cesare Maldini had a successful career in charge of the Italy under-21 side, winning the European Under-21 Championship a record three consecutive times; he later coached the Italy senior team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and the Paraguay national football team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

The son of Albino Maldini, a sailor, and Maria Vodeb, Cesare Maldini was born in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.

Cesare Maldini married Maria Luisa in 1962; together they had six children: three sons and three daughters.

Paolo Maldini captained Milan to the UEFA Champions League title in 2003 and 2007, and won the trophy five times in total.

Cesare Maldini won four league titles with Milan, and later became the team's captain in 1961, a role which he held for several years, until he left the club, and was succeeded by Gianni Rivera.

At international level Cesare Maldini earned 14 caps for the Italy national football team between 1960 and 1963, serving as the national team's captain between 1962 and 1963, but was less successful than with Milan.

Cesare Maldini was highly regarded for his leadership, and consistency, as well as his discipline and class, both on and off the pitch; throughout his career, he only received five yellow cards and was sent off only once.

Cesare Maldini took charge of the Italian Under-21 side in 1986, and coached the team for ten years, winning the European Under-21 Football Championship tournament a record three consecutive times between 1992 and 1996.

Cesare Maldini coached the Italian Olympic teams that took part at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.

Under Cesare Maldini, Italy were one of the four teams who took part in the 1997 Tournoi de France friendly tournament, against his wishes, in which they finished in last place.

Cesare Maldini was condemned for leaving Gianfranco Zola out of the squad, and for his reluctance to field creative forwards Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero alongside each other in the front-line, opting instead to have one player come on for the other in the second half; these controversial substitutions were compared to those made between Sandro Mazzola and Gianni Rivera by Ferruccio Valcareggi, the Italian manager at the 1970 World Cup.

Cesare Maldini's appointment caused some controversy as domestic managers were overlooked, and because he spoke little Spanish.

Cesare Maldini nonetheless had the support of star goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert and several other senior players.

Cesare Maldini took over the team which had already qualified for the 2002 World Cup hosted by South Korea and Japan; at the age of 70, he became, what was at the time, the oldest coach to ever be in charge of a national side at a World Cup tournament ; this record was later broken by Greece's coach Otto Rehhagel in the 2010 World Cup.

Cesare Maldini's teams were often known for being very compact defensively and for their tight and physical marking of opponents and would often play on the counter-attack.

Cesare Maldini later worked as a sports analyst for several radio stations and sports channels, such as beIN SPORTS, and for Al Jazeera in 2012, with Alessandro Altobelli.