94 Facts About Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time.

Paolo Maldini spent all 25 seasons of his playing career in Serie A with Milan and retired at the age of 41 in 2009.

Paolo Maldini 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.

Paolo Maldini made his debut for Italy in 1988 and played for 14 years before retiring in 2002 with 7 goals and 126 caps.

Paolo Maldini held the record for appearances with Italy, until he was surpassed by Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon.

Paolo Maldini captained Italy for eight years and held the record for appearances as Italy's captain, until he was again surpassed by Cannavaro and Buffon.

Paolo Maldini was elected into the all-star teams for all of these tournaments.

Paolo Maldini came second to George Weah for FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995.

Paolo Maldini came third in the Ballon d'Or rankings in 1994 and 2003.

Paolo Maldini was ranked 21st in World Soccer magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century.

Paolo Maldini was named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020.

Paolo Maldini held the record for most appearances in UEFA Club competitions, with 174, until he was surpassed by Iker Casillas in 2017.

Paolo Maldini holds the record for appearances with Milan and is one of the few players to have made over 1,000 career appearances.

In 1978, at the age of 10, Paolo Maldini had his first tryout for AC Milan youth academy.

Paolo Maldini would continue playing in this position until the age of 14, when he was moved to right full-back.

Paolo Maldini made his Coppa Italia debut in 1985, on 21 August, while his debut in European competition came later that same year, on 18 September.

Under Sacchi and later Fabio Capello, Paolo Maldini formed with long-timers Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti, as well as Filippo Galli, Stefano Nava and later Christian Panucci, one of football's strongest defensive quartets of all time.

In 1989, Paolo Maldini was awarded the Bravo Award, as the best under-23 player in European Competitions.

Paolo Maldini helped Milan defend the Serie A title the following season, and reach the first of three consecutive UEFA Champions League finals.

Paolo Maldini helped lead Milan to a second consecutive Champions League final, where he helped his team defeat Barcelona.

Paolo Maldini then singled out Milan captain Franco Baresi as a player who "really [deserved] to receive the sort of award I have received".

Paolo Maldini placed third in the 1994 Ballon d'Or, behind Stoichkov and compatriot Roberto Baggio, and fifth in the FIFA World Player of the Year Award.

Paolo Maldini came second behind future teammate George Weah in the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year Award for his performances.

On 17 February 1995, he made his 300th appearance in Serie A Maldini was able to capture his fifth Serie A title, and his fourth under Capello, the following season.

Paolo Maldini made his 400th Serie A appearance on 25 April 1999.

In 2002, Paolo Maldini was awarded the Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea", for his career achievements and personality.

Milan finished third in Serie A, but Paolo Maldini won the first Coppa Italia of his career, defeating Roma in the final.

Paolo Maldini was elected Man of the Match and was named in the UEFA Team of the Year for the first time in his career.

Paolo Maldini placed third in the 2003 Ballon d'Or for the second time in his career.

Paolo Maldini went on to captain Milan to win the Serie A title that season, with a record 82 points, whilst Milan were eliminated in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia by Lazio, and in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by Deportivo de La Coruna.

Paolo Maldini was included in the FIFA 100 list in 2004, which was a selection of the 125 greatest living footballers, chosen by Pele.

Paolo Maldini began the next season by lifting the 2004 Supercoppa Italiana as captain after Milan defeated Lazio.

Milan finished second in Serie A to Juventus that season, and reached the Champions League final, only to lose out on penalties to Liverpool, although Paolo Maldini opened the scoring in the first minute.

In 2005, Paolo Maldini was elected to be a part of the UEFA Team of the Year for the second time in his career, and was elected to be the part of the FIFPro World XI for the first time in his career.

On 25 September 2005, Paolo Maldini broke Dino Zoff's Serie A appearance record after playing his 571st league match against Treviso; seven days earlier, he had played his 800th game in all competitions for Milan.

At age 38, Paolo Maldini became the oldest captain to lift the Champions League trophy.

Paolo Maldini participated in eight Champions League finals during his career, which is equalled only by Francisco Gento of Real Madrid; Paolo Maldini lifted the trophy five times, twice as captain.

Paolo Maldini was elected the UEFA Club Defender of the Year for his 2007 performances.

In 2007, after Milan won the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, Paolo Maldini became the first European captain to lift the FIFA Club World Cup after defeating Boca Juniors on 16 December.

On 16 February 2008, in a match against Parma at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, Paolo Maldini came on for defender Marek Jankulovski to make his 1,000th professional career appearance, of which 861 were with Milan, 12 with the Italy under-21 side, 1 with the Italian Olympic team and 126 with the Italy senior team.

In 2008, Paolo Maldini was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit, as well as the Premio Internazionale Giacinto Facchetti, which is awarded to a player who was demonstrated both skill and fair play throughout his career.

On 17 May 2009, in the Stadio Friuli, Paolo Maldini played his 900th official match for Milan in a league game against Udinese.

Paolo Maldini was given a standing ovation by the fans.

Paolo Maldini was member of the under-21 team that finished runners-up to Spain in the 1986 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Paolo Maldini featured in all four of Italy's games at UEFA Euro 1988, where they reached the semi-finals, losing to the Soviet Union.

Paolo Maldini participated in his first World Cup in 1990 on home soil, appearing in all seven Italy matches.

Paolo Maldini helped Italy to win five consecutive games and was a starting member of the defence that kept a FIFA World Cup record of five consecutive clean sheets.

Paolo Maldini was elected to be part of the Team of the Tournament.

Paolo Maldini was part of the Italy squad that participated in the 1992 US Cup, finishing in second place in the friendly tournament, behind the host nation.

Italy failed to qualify for Euro 1992, finishing second in their group, but qualified for the 1994 World Cup, where Paolo Maldini was named vice-captain for Italy.

Paolo Maldini led the Italian defence to the final, playing both as a centre-back and as a full-back, due to the absences of his Milan and Italy defensive teammates Baresi, due to injury, Mauro Tassotti, due to suspension after the quarter-finals, and Alessandro Costacurta, who was suspended for the final.

Paolo Maldini helped Italy keep a clean sheet in the final against favourites Brazil as the team eventually lost on penalties.

Paolo Maldini, partnering with Alessandro Costacurta, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta and Giuseppe Bergomi, helped Italy to keep clean sheets in the second group match against Cameroon, the round of 16 match Norway and France in the quarter-finals, but Italy eventually went out of the tournament to the hosts and eventual champions on penalties, for the third consecutive time in a World Cup.

Paolo Maldini played in all six of Italy's matches during the tournament.

Italy topped their group, winning every match, and Paolo Maldini, starting alongside Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta, helped the Italian defence to concede only two goals en route to the final, keeping clean sheets against co-hosts Belgium in the group stage, Romania in the quarter-finals and co-hosts the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

Paolo Maldini played in his fourth World Cup, and his second as captain, in the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.

Paolo Maldini helped Italy keep a clean sheet in their opening win against Ecuador, and played in all four of Italy's matches.

Paolo Maldini scored seven international goals, all coming in home games.

Paolo Maldini spent over half of his 16 years as an international as team captain, wearing the armband a record 74 times, until he was overtaken by Cannavaro, and subsequently Buffon.

Paolo Maldini made 23 appearances in World Cups, the third-highest total after Lothar Matthaus, who appeared in 25 matches and Lionel Messi, who appeared in 26 matches.

Paolo Maldini once held the record for most minutes played at the FIFA World Cup, which was later broken by Messi at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In February 2009, Italian head coach Marcello Lippi declared his support for a testimonial match for Paolo Maldini, stating that it would give him a chance to play for the Azzurri for a final time.

Paolo Maldini rejected the offer, saying that he wanted to part with football in an "official" match.

Paolo Maldini was offered a position that would have reunited him with his former coach Carlo Ancelotti by joining Chelsea as a coach.

Paolo Maldini had met up with Ancelotti and with Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich, to discuss such a possibility.

Ancelotti later revealed that Paolo Maldini had turned down the offer.

In 2012, Paolo Maldini was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Paolo Maldini played in the 11th Match Against Poverty on 4 March 2014 alongside other footballers such as Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, and Pavel Nedved, which was held in Bern, Switzerland, with the proceeds being donated to the recovery efforts in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan.

In May 2015, Paolo Maldini became the co-owner of North American Soccer League club Miami FC alongside television rights entrepreneur Riccardo Silva, in hope that the club could join the Major League Soccer in the future.

On 14 June 2019, Paolo Maldini was promoted to technical director.

On 1 July 2022, one day after Paolo Maldini's contract expired, it was announced that he would remain Milan's technical director for two more years.

Paolo Maldini had everything: he was a complete defender, who was strong, intelligent, and an excellent man-marker.

Paolo Maldini was switched to the left-back position by manager Arrigo Sacchi due to Mauro Tassotti occupying the right side for Milan.

Paolo Maldini was renowned for his aerial abilities, sliding tackles, speed, and stamina.

Paolo Maldini was an excellent attacker, as he scored and assisted many goals throughout his career.

Paolo Maldini was renowned for his tactical intelligence and ability to anticipate threats from the opposition.

Paolo Maldini's excellent passing allowed him to play in the sweeper or libero position.

Paolo Maldini was the best defender I faced over the course of my career.

Paolo Maldini definitely deserved to win the award FIFA World Player of the Year several times over.

Paolo Maldini is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time and is referred to as "an icon and gentleman of the game".

Paolo Maldini was known for his calm and composed manner on the pitch, his ability to read the game, and his discipline on the pitch, as he only received three red cards throughout his entire career.

Paolo Maldini was strong with his head, with his right foot, with his left foot.

Paolo Maldini was the first defender to be shortlisted for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, finishing second in 1995.

Paolo Maldini finished third in the Ballon d'Or rankings in 1994 and in 2003.

Paolo Maldini was named in the UEFA Team of the Year, the FIFPro World XI, the World Cup Team of the Tournament, and the European Championship Team of the Tournament during his career.

Paolo Maldini was renowned for his longevity, as he became a starter for Milan as a teenager and remained as a starter until his retirement at the age of 41.

Paolo Maldini was renowned for his vocal and commanding presence on the pitch and his ability to motivate his teammates and ensure they remained in position.

Paolo Maldini made over 1,000 professional appearances and he held the record for appearances in Serie A, until he was surpassed by Gianluigi Buffon in 2020, and he still holds this record for Milan in all competitions.

Paolo Maldini held the record for appearances as Italy's captain, until again being surpassed by Cannavaro.

Paolo Maldini has inspired many defenders like Rio Ferdinand, Rafael Marquez and Carles Puyol.

Paolo Maldini has appeared in commercials for American sportswear company Nike.

Paolo Maldini wore Nike Tiempo football boots at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Paolo Maldini has featured in EA Sports' FIFA video game series; he was on the cover of the Italian edition of FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 and was an Ultimate Team Legend in FIFA 14.

Paolo Maldini was born on 26 June 1968 in Milan to Cesare Paolo Maldini and Maria Luisa De Mezzi.