AC Maldini – The club indebted to one family

Date: 29th March 2016 at 9:05am
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Since 1954, 62 years ago, one Cesare Maldini made the leap from Triestina to the Rossoneri. Little did he, or in fact anyone know that such a surname would be at the forefront of a 1963 European Cup success, and again via the form of his son, Paolo, no less than five times. This was the Maldini family. The European Cup was their skeleton, their flesh Scudetti. Cut them open and they’d bleed red and black.

Cesare & Paolo Maldini AC Milan

Following two years with Triestina, Cesare Maldini came to the conclusion his future lay elsewhere. At 22-years-old, the defender needed a home that screamed success and ambitions – AC Milan. Playing at right-back, Cesare was dropped in at the deep end, playing 27 games of a possible 36. The likes of the Swedish striker Gunnar Nordahl – Il Bisonte – were leading the line with other names such as Nils Liedholm and Juan Alberto Schiaffino. The transfer into a squad full of incredible talent was almost seamless, as if Maldini was destined to be here from birth.

So much so, that Milan won their first six games of the season until they were halted in the Derby della Madonnina. Funnily enough, and rather typical of the beautiful game that is football, Cesare grabbed his first ever goal away to his former club Triestina, although the Diavolo did fall to a 4-3 defeat. It didn’t matter, however, as Maldini had successfully navigated his first season by winning the Scudetto and gaining access to the first ever edition of the European Cup.

It was this tournament that has captivated supporters to this very day in the shape of the UEFA Champions League. It was this tournament that signified what the Maldini family have brought to Milan.

Maldini Champions League 1994

Despite being part of the inaugural competition, Milan would have to wait their turn to make history. Real Madrid were the elite of the world, winning the opening five until Eusebio’s Benfica dismantled the Spaniards and took the trophy home twice. However, thanks to Maldini and a Jose Altafini brace, Italy would have their first ever European Cup.

Crushing victories over Union Luxembourg, Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and Dundee meant Cesare’s Milan – as he was now captain of the Rossoneri – would meet Benfica in the final. Wembley Stadium was the venue of choice with an estimated 45,000 spectators ready to witness the making of a club who would go on to win seven European trophies.

The number five, who had over the past few years moved from right-back into a more central role, played alongside Mario David and Mario Trebbi. Maldini could nothing to thwart Eusebio’s darting run that opened the scoring, but a wonderful brace from the Brazilian turned Italian Altafini saved the day and gave Milan and Italy their first European success.

maldini

With Maldini lifting the famous trophy aloft, he knew nothing could top this moment, referring to the success as “once you experience such a massive moment you just can’t forget it. . .Those pictures [of the game] come back to me again and again. . .I’m proud to say I was there as a player as well as a captain.”

Who would think that in 1989, 26 years later, his son Paolo would go on to win the famous competition a total of five times and then lift the cup in 2003?

Paolo was already in the Primavera in 1978 when he was 10 years old, and made his debut for the first team seven years after. Funnily enough, the coach that handed him his debut was Liedholm, a former teammate and friend of his father. On January 20 1985, via an injured sustained by Sergio Battistini, a 16-year-old baby faced Maldini entered the fray against Udinese.Cesare Maldini

It was a case of a never look back scenario, ingraining himself in the starting XI from the 1986-87 campaign. He was a right-back to start with, just like Cesare, but also followed in his father’s footsteps to move positions. Instead of a centre role though, the left-back position would become his own, and one in which many believe to be the best ever in that area of the pitch. Unlike Cesare, his goalscoring was far more common, netting his first versus Como in 1987 of what would be a total of 29 goals. His father, on the other hand, netted just three times.

He won seven Scudetti during his 24-year time at the Rossoneri, his first arriving under Arrigo Sacchi. Maldini was a part of the global phenomenon that was AC Milan during the latter stages of the 1980’s into the 1990’s. He played with the Dutch trio featuring Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit. It came as no surprise that Paolo would already have three European Cup/Champions League successes under his belt, but the crowning moment came when he lifted the infamous trophy, just like his father, in 2003.

In what would be the first all-Italian final when they took on Juventus at Old Trafford, again an English venue being the country to watch a Maldini family member hold the trophy above their head. Carlo Ancelotti’s men topped Group G over Deportivo La Coruna, Lens and Bayern Munich before winning Group C in the second group stage versus Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Maldinis

Victories over Ajax, a superb and memorable success against rivals Inter meant the Bianconeri was the barrier between Paolo repeating what his father had done back in 1963. However, even with a battling and tough match that saw the game go to penalties, Andriy Shevchenko netted the winning spot-kick to complete the full cycle of Maldini success.

With Christian Maldini, the son of Paolo and grandson of Cesare now following in the footsteps of his elders, it doesn’t look as though the Maldini influence on Milan will ever cease to exist.

And to finish in the words of the late Cesare Maldini, “we are a Rossoneri family, let’s not forget that.”

 

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