Maldini won 5 Champions League Titles with Milan in 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003 and 2007. He also played in World Cup 1994 final against Brazil and Euro 2000 final against France. An absolute Football Legend.
What a crazy lineup filled with legends everywhere. Maldini, Nesta, Dida, Seedorf, Gattuso, Pirlo, Kaka, Inzaghi, Brazilian Ronaldo, Julio Cesar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Zanetti, Maicon, Materazzi, Patrick Viera, Cambiaso, Figo, Crespo and Ancelotti in the dugout 🤯
Most were well past their bests at this point in time. Keeping all these legends around into their late 30s/early 40s was part of the reason Italian football hit the doldrums so badly in the 2010s, Milan especially
Maldini was an Italian legend, he never went after players , he was always going straight for the ball with clean tackles and direct recovery slides Greatest defender ever.
No-one buddy . This era's greatest centre backs are none other than sir Paulo Maldini and Sergio Ramos Garcia. Like they both have the most biggest longevity as defenders. Both are my idols🐐
There's Difference between playing Strongly Aggresive and Being Dirty. And Maldini was the perfect example his tackles were so strong and Aggresive but always gets the ball first
@Anime.Headquarter Exactly it's people just don't get that. Maldini played against Zlatan in his prime whereas Maldini was in his late 30s and gave him a tough time. Ramos on the other hand in his prime gets destroyed by Zlatan in his 40s xd
@Anime.Headquarter Maldini was class. He was extremely athletic in his youth but later learned how to play more intelligently to lengthen his career. He was a defender. He could play anywhere in the backline.
Inter fan here! A derby is always a derby no matter the circumstances! Huge respect for Maldini, he was, like Zanetti, versatile reliable and a true captain up until the very end 💪💪 He will forever be the greatest defender ever to my mind (and for many others too) 💪💪
@@mahranyousef6897 Bro... I didn't compare anyone. I stayed some facts. Maldini is the best defender of all times, no one can deny that. But this doesn't mean Zanetti wasn't a great player in his own merit, with comparable, if not better versatility and also similar captain skills, reliability and longevity. Much like Totti or Del Piero. They were some of the very few in a small category , real flags for their respective clubs. They were LEGENDS of the '90s-00s, and still and forever will be fair their respective clubs. Every big Italian team had one who was respected by everyone. Good luck finding one today.
@@GEORGIOSMGEORGIADIS4 Speaking of versatility, Maldini wasn’t comparable both as LB or CB dear. He even played as a libero sometimes during the Capello era.
@@mahranyousef6897 yeah of course, Maldini could play all 4 defense positions equally excellently and Zanetti could play either on both flanks, as defensive and central midfield as well as down both wings.
@@GEORGIOSMGEORGIADIS4 yeah I’m a milan fan and agree completely. Zanetti was incredibly versatile and long-standing, much like Paolo. il capitano is the goat defender and zantetti is a legend of the game who achieved so much and was an icon. No need for comparison.
No defender was as good-looking yet aggressive on the pitch as Paolo Maldini. His accurate tackles and great pace could wreck havoc on any talented striker. He was an absolute beast
Maldini, Stam, Dida, Shevchenko, Nesta, Seedorf; Inzaghi, Pirlo, Gattuso, Kakà, Cafú, Rui Costa, Crespo/Gilardino... this team was insane, but if you look other teams of that time (Barça, Madrid, Chelsea, Juve, Inter, ManU, Arsenal, Liverpool, etc), you will see will end of 90s - beginning of 2000 was the best football era.
Fun fact Paolo aveva ricevuto una chiamata da uno dei dirigenti della nazionale di unirsi alla squadra però lui aveva rifiutato perché pensava fosse sbagliato prendersi il merito dopo che aveva lasciato la nazionale. La vergogna è che non abbia mai vinto un pallone d’oro perché la gente ai tempi preferivano gli attaccanti ai difensori
his famous saying was, once u have to go down for a tackle the u have already making a defensive mistake. he was slow towards the end, which Milan make him play more to centre back. plus milan was playing 4-1-2-1 which needs fast attacking fullback rather than defensive one. but his winning aura and leadership makes the team weaker just with him not being on the pitch, which become more obvious after his retirement. Thats why ibrahimovic was brought in later even if he is old. Such a legend player
I know that I have witnessed one of the best defenders of all time. As a Rossonero, Maldini was our spiritual guide, the essence of AC Milan. Always clean, punctual, elegant, rough but fair. He had an incredible technique, the kind that many midfielders today would dream to have. As a defender, he was able to do incredible tackles, terrific advances on the ball, both on the air and on the ground. Theo Hernandez is incredible for pace and strength, but he has 50% technical skills of Maldini.
Theo probably has closer to 70% of the technical skill but he's more rough and less elegant. Their main difference is defending. Theo relies on his power to defend. But I've never seen Theo consistently win 1 on 1s as cleanly as Maldini.
@@acruzro95 I agree that he's probably better at shooting, but do not forget that Theo is a lefty. Maldini was able to play with both feet and this gives a wingback several solutions. WIth Theo i have noticed that opponents usually tries to press him ASAP in order to let him do the safest choice which is passing back.
They don’t make defenders like this anymore because defending isn’t as much a priority as ball skill. Interesting developments as things evolve but I’ll always have a soft spot for this all time great Italian defending!
2.58 Maldini had no weak foot. Maldini had no weakness from first game till his last. A terrific player all day long. One if not the best defenders of last 50 years.
whats crazy is how his performance here is on a similar level to your average leftbacks performance in a league game. From what this vid showed honestly 4 or 5/10 rating which for a 39 playing at fullback is ridiculous. He doesn’t look too fast or deadly here but still looks defensively solid. That header was a mistake but the attacker was unmarked and had far too easy of a shot afterwards that I can’t put full blame on maldini.
I dont think the goal was Maldinis fault only. The player he headed the ball didnt come closer but stayed still and he had a player coming behind. Bad awareness by him allso.
Hopefully times have changed but fullback was traditionally the lowest status/lowest paid position in the game. I made left back my own in amateur football - everyone else wanted to be attacking players but full back is a great position, you are always involved. Throw ins, short goal kicks/roll outs from the keeper and you generally got more space to play and affect the game.
fullback is one of the harder positions to play. Especially in the modern game where top level fullbacks are expected to be solid defensively and strong going forward
LOL even the commentator talks about the terrible MISTAKE by the Milan keeper, he totally butchered saving an easy shot, Maldini's deflection was unlucky, but the error was the keeper's.
Reminder that Maldini was still a regular starter for AC Milan at the age of 40. Meanwhile, today´s players usually leave European top clubs once they reach their mid-30s and go to the MLS, the Middle East or China/Japan (pretty much always for the money). Just look at CR7, while Messi and Benzema could follow him soon (I hope not, but I am not too optimistic).
The saddest thing about this video is that in the modern game that perfectly timed first tackle on Maicon would not only be given as foul but after a VAR review it would have resulted in a red card. The modern game has destroyed defending.
Strong in air? It is in air without even being challenged that Maldini heads the ball into the danger area that leads to Inters goal! As a central defender you NEVER head the ball into that area just outside the box! You always try to clear it out to side in the direction the ball was travelling. Maldini was a left back! In fact he started out his career as a right back, but was moved to left back to make room for Tassoti on the right back. Maldini was two footed and a versatile player that could have played basically anywhere in defence, but his extremely well-timed tackles and the ability to read the game meant that you would always get the most out of him on either left or right back!
Such a shame that a player of his career and category couldn’t lift the World Cup, even though he wasn’t on the squad in that Italy 2007 team, they still won. In that time he was still one of the best full backs, as shown in the video. Funny though, had he been called to that WC, Fabio Grosso wouldn’t get the call (key player in that wc run) Now the question is Had he been called in that squad, would that team eventually go on and win as well? Maybe in the multiverse
