Paolo Maldini

Paolo Cesare Maldini (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaːolo malˈdiːni]; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian football executive and former professional footballer who most recently served as the president of the technical sector of the Italian Football Federation. He spent his entire career playing as a left-back or as a centre-back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. As the Milan and Italy captain for many years, he was nicknamed "Il Capitano". Maldini held the record for appearances in Serie A (647), until he was surpassed by Gianluigi Buffon in 2020. He also holds the joint-record for most European Cup/UEFA Champions League final appearances (8) alongside Paco Gento. From 2018 to 2023 he worked at AC Milan as sporting director and is a co-owner of USL Championship club Miami FC.

Maldini was a one-club man, spending all 25 seasons of his playing career in Serie A with Milan and retiring at the age of 41 in 2009. He won 26 trophies with Milan: the European Cup/UEFA Champions League five times, seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana titles, five European/UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, and one FIFA Club World Cup. Maldini won the Best Defender award at the UEFA Club Football Awards at the age of 39, as well as the Serie A Defender of the Year Award in 2004. Following his retirement, Milan retired his number 3 shirt.

Maldini made his debut for Italy in 1988 and played for 14 years before retiring in 2002 with 7 goals and 126 caps. He held the record for appearances with Italy, until he was surpassed by Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon. Maldini captained Italy for eight years and held the record for appearances as Italy's captain with 75, until he was again surpassed by Cannavaro and Buffon. With Italy, Maldini took part in four FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships. Although he did not win a tournament, he reached the final of the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000 and the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1988. He was elected into the all-star teams for all of these tournaments.