Paolo was born in Milan, on the 26th of June 1968. He was the son of a great Milan player, Cesare Maldini, ex-coach of the Italian national team.

Paolo is considered to be the best defender of all time. Every big football fan will say that.

In January 1985, the Milan first team was plagued with injury, and for a match against Udinese, then manager Nils Lidholm decided to give 16-year old Maldini a spot on the substitutes' bench. When Sergio Battistini got injured and came off at half-time, Maldini got the shout and made his first appearance for the club that was to become such a huge part of his life and identity.

In the 2005 final against Liverpool FC, Maldini scored the fastest ever goal in a European Cup final, after only 51 seconds. He also became the oldest player ever to score in the final.

Throughout his 23 seasons at Milan, Maldini has only missed a handful of matches, making more than 25 appearances every year except 2001-02, when he suffered knee problems.

Maldini played  902 matches and scored 33 goals in AC Milan shirt. While in Italian national team, he scored 7 goals in 126 matches.

Just look at this amazing trophies list:

Serie A:  7                Coppa Italia:  1            Italian Supercup: 5 

Champions League: 5    European Supercup: 5       Club World Cup:  3

Paolo deserves the respect from all the fans, no matters if your team is not Milan, the eternal capitano is gone.

PAOLO MALDINI - UN GRANDE CAPITANO