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Italy is a land of breathtaking natural beauty, a land with a great cuisine and a land that loves its football. Italians are some of the most passionate and disrespectful fans the game has ever encountered. Almost every innovation in football tactics can be traced back to Italy. Be it Catenaccio or establishing the position of a trequarista, (or the number ‘10’ position), Italy has always been at the forefront of football evolution.
The three time World Cup winners have produced numerous legends. Be it in attack, in midfield or in defense. But primarily it is their defenders who have retained a place in public memory. There have been men like Scirea, Baresi, Picci and Nesta who are forever immortalized in the annals of footballing lore, but one man stands head and shoulders above them. That man is Paolo Maldini.
Son of former Italian player and coach Ceasre Maldini, Paolo is one of the best defenders of all time. He is surely the best I have seen in action. A tall and strong defender, he was the cornerstone of Arrigo Sacchi’s revolution at AC Milan and the rock unto which managers like Fabio Capello and Carlo Ancelotti built their teams.
“You really are number one. There are great players, and world-class players and then there are those players who go beyond that. Paolo is the perfect example of all of this,” - Del Piero
A one club man throughout his career, Maldini made 902 appearances for the Rossoneri over a period of 25 years. He won everything there is to be won at a football club. He appeared in eight European Cup finals and won 5 of them. He won the Scudetto 7 times, and although he could win the Coppa Italia only once, he also has a Club World Cup and two Intercontinental Cups to his name. With such an esteemed list of honors, it is little wonder that Maldini is respected the way he is.
‘Il Capitano’ or ‘the captain’ was one of the best leaders the game has seen. He led his teams with his performance and was forever busy in organizing his defense and midfield. In Sacchi’s reign he, along with Baresi, Costacurta and Tassoti, formed one of the best defensive lines in history. Later he also formed a brilliant partnership with Nesta and Nesta himself credits the development of his game to Maldini’s influence.
Maldini was a mainstay for the national team too. He was a part of the Italian national team from 1988 to 2002, during which time Italy lost the 1994 World Cup final to Brazil and the Euro 2000 final to France. With 126 appearances, he holds the record for the international appearances, and it is a testimonial to his leadership qualities that he was captain of Italy in 74 appearances.
He rejected the idea of a testimonial match for himself saying that he wanted to go out with an official match and duly retired after the 2002 World Cup. Although he retired trophy-less, a defense which had grown up under him and consisted of Cannavaro, Nesta, Materazzi , Oddo and Zambrotta won Italy the Jules Rimet trophy in 2006.
He was exceptional as a defender. He had decent pace and an instinctive understanding of when to go forward. He was right footed and could easily alternate between centre half and left back. The most impressive thing about Maldini though is his tackle rate. Almost all through his career, he averaged only one tackle every two games, which in fact is a very low rate for a defender.
Maldini firmly believed that tackling your opponent was the last option available to a defender. He believed more in marking strikers out of the game. Also, he made a very high number of interceptions for a defender, although accurate statistics of his interceptions are not available it is safe to say that he had a brilliant reading of the game.
An immensely humble personality, Madini always credited his defensive ability to Franco Baresi and Arrigo Sacchi. All through the 1990’s and early 2000’s Maldini was recognized as one of the premier defenders in the world. He had finished second to George Weah in the 1995 World Player of the Year awards but I am pretty sure that it did not matter much to Maldini. For him it was always the team that was important and if something happened to him for his contributions to the team, he was happy, but unlike players today he did not seek individual honors.
An epitome of dedication and commitment, Maldini was the perfect professional. He did what was asked of him and contributed much more. Seeing him chasing down Ibrahimovic and dispossessing him after the forward had a 5 yard headstart on him during the 2007 Milan Derby is an image that is etched into my mind. It was this commitment and desire that kept him at the top of the pile for so long. And when he knew that he could not keep up to his own lofty standards, he chose to bow out.
I wish buon compleanno (happy birthday) to this legend and hope I see another defender as good as him.
