To me, the spiritual Capitano of Milan has always been the one and only Franco Baresi.
Indeed, there was a man who lost both his parents while he was still a child (which earned him the nickname of "campione triste"), was rejected by Inter at 17 in favour of his older brother Giuseppe because he was considered as "too small and too frail" (Inter's talent scouting abilities where thus already apparent in those years
), and who despite being already labelled as the next Beckenbauer at 20 refused to give in to the lure of the other serie A giants during the infamous years of Milan's exile to the serie B. But most importantly, he was a natural born leader, one everybody in the team respected, so much that he became our captain at the age of 20, right after Rivera's retirement.
By contrast, Maldini had the advantage of being the offspring of a Milanese legend from the 60's (his father Cesare). Sure, his qualities were immediately for all to see as he arrived at Milanello aged only 15, but it is fair to say that he would not have emerged so quickly without his family's reputation. Also, while Baresi's granitic face bears the signs of the courageous and humble soldier who has been relentlessly fighting for the cause, Maldini still looks like a Hollywood actor 20 years on. In a nutshell, he's had everything on his side from the start : a famous last name, plenty of talent, and good looks. It's just not fair:groan:.
Now, before you accuse me of being bitter, I will point out the 2 sectors where Lord Paolo has really earned my utmost respect, and which elevate him from the status of "Milan legend" to the restricted cicrle of "Milan greatest" :
1) his leadership qualities
2) his longevity
1) Unlike Baresi, Maldini was not a born leader. Quite the opposite in fact. In the first part of his career, he was this gentle and somewhat shy young man who seemed wary of one day having to inherit the captain armband from Kaiser Franco. When the latter retired in 96, Maldini was already a mature player, but somehow I thought he still did not have the necessary qualities to take over. Well, he surely proved me wrong. Maldini has been able to acquire those qualities and, 9 years on, he is to today's great Milan exactly what Baresi was to that invincible team in the 90's : the man everybody respects and looks up to, from the primavera player to the team's star striker.
2) The fact that Maldini started playing at the top level at such a young age led many (including myself) to believe that his star would decline earlier too. His being an attacking left-back only strenghtened my sensation, as those kind of players tend to feel the effect of time and age more than others (witness Juve's Cabrini, who was the best in that position at 23/24 but was finished by the age of 30). Once again, I was forced to reconsider. No longer able to afford his deadly runs on the flank as he used to, Maldini has managed to recycle as a top central defender, and at the age of 36 (soon 37), he quite simply remains one of the best in his role.
Now, playing for the World's most successful team of the past 20 years surely helps, but the fact remains that players like Maldini - players who are born in their club's city and have worn its colours from the youth team to retirement - are almost extinct. I don't know if Maldini should have his number 3 withdrawn from Milan's kits when he quits - as happened with Baresi's legendary number 6 - but we better savour this man while he still plays, because chances are that we won't see another such figure in our lifetimes.
Indeed, there was a man who lost both his parents while he was still a child (which earned him the nickname of "campione triste"), was rejected by Inter at 17 in favour of his older brother Giuseppe because he was considered as "too small and too frail" (Inter's talent scouting abilities where thus already apparent in those years
), and who despite being already labelled as the next Beckenbauer at 20 refused to give in to the lure of the other serie A giants during the infamous years of Milan's exile to the serie B. But most importantly, he was a natural born leader, one everybody in the team respected, so much that he became our captain at the age of 20, right after Rivera's retirement.By contrast, Maldini had the advantage of being the offspring of a Milanese legend from the 60's (his father Cesare). Sure, his qualities were immediately for all to see as he arrived at Milanello aged only 15, but it is fair to say that he would not have emerged so quickly without his family's reputation. Also, while Baresi's granitic face bears the signs of the courageous and humble soldier who has been relentlessly fighting for the cause, Maldini still looks like a Hollywood actor 20 years on. In a nutshell, he's had everything on his side from the start : a famous last name, plenty of talent, and good looks. It's just not fair:groan:.
Now, before you accuse me of being bitter, I will point out the 2 sectors where Lord Paolo has really earned my utmost respect, and which elevate him from the status of "Milan legend" to the restricted cicrle of "Milan greatest" :
1) his leadership qualities
2) his longevity
1) Unlike Baresi, Maldini was not a born leader. Quite the opposite in fact. In the first part of his career, he was this gentle and somewhat shy young man who seemed wary of one day having to inherit the captain armband from Kaiser Franco. When the latter retired in 96, Maldini was already a mature player, but somehow I thought he still did not have the necessary qualities to take over. Well, he surely proved me wrong. Maldini has been able to acquire those qualities and, 9 years on, he is to today's great Milan exactly what Baresi was to that invincible team in the 90's : the man everybody respects and looks up to, from the primavera player to the team's star striker.
2) The fact that Maldini started playing at the top level at such a young age led many (including myself) to believe that his star would decline earlier too. His being an attacking left-back only strenghtened my sensation, as those kind of players tend to feel the effect of time and age more than others (witness Juve's Cabrini, who was the best in that position at 23/24 but was finished by the age of 30). Once again, I was forced to reconsider. No longer able to afford his deadly runs on the flank as he used to, Maldini has managed to recycle as a top central defender, and at the age of 36 (soon 37), he quite simply remains one of the best in his role.
Now, playing for the World's most successful team of the past 20 years surely helps, but the fact remains that players like Maldini - players who are born in their club's city and have worn its colours from the youth team to retirement - are almost extinct. I don't know if Maldini should have his number 3 withdrawn from Milan's kits when he quits - as happened with Baresi's legendary number 6 - but we better savour this man while he still plays, because chances are that we won't see another such figure in our lifetimes.
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there is no-one as good as Maldini at what he does, he is the best defender ever. And even at 36, he is still such a good player, could still play for Italy!