Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini had his first trial at AC Milan aged ten, having only ever played football in the street, and he never wore another club's shirt. He made his Serie A debut at 16 in January 1985, was a regular by the next season and was still in the team when he retired in 2009 at 41. Along the way he won five European Cups and seven league titles, and captained Milan and Italy for so long that he was known simply as "Il Capitano". Despite his years at left-back, he was right-footed. He broke into the Milan side at right-back, but even as a youth player he was comfortable on the ball with either foot, and when Arrigo Sacchi moved him to the left because Mauro Tassotti held the right side, he stayed there. As a young full-back he was quick, tireless and good in the air, and he liked to get forward and chip in with goals and assists. He was renowned for his sliding tackles, though he held back from challenges he judged unnecessary. He read attacks early, sensed danger before it developed and preferred to shut a forward out through positioning and tight marking rather than by diving in. He has been described as "an icon and gentleman of the game", and the record backs that up: he was sent off only three times in more than a thousand professional games. His passing let him play as a sweeper, and when age took the edge off his pace he moved to centre-back, where experience, heading and tackling carried him. His biggest nights show both sides of a long career. In the 1994 Champions League final, without Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta, he helped Milan shut out the heavily favoured Barcelona of Johan Cruyff in a 4–0 win. That summer he switched between centre-back and full-back as Italy reached the World Cup final, where Brazil could not score against them before Italy lost on penalties. In 2005 he scored inside the first minute of the Champions League final against Liverpool, the fastest goal any European Cup final has seen, yet Milan lost on penalties after leading 3–0 at half-time. He later called it the worst moment of his career. Two years on, he beat the same opponents in Athens and became the oldest captain to lift the trophy. He was known for a vocal, commanding presence, keeping team-mates in position and driving them on. When he became the first defender to win World Soccer's player of the year award in 1994, he pointed out that defenders were "more in the engine room rather than taking the glory" and said Baresi was a player who deserved that kind of award. Even at 39 he was named UEFA's best club defender for 2007, and Milan later retired his number 3 shirt.