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MALDINI

Paolo Cesare Maldini
ITALY · ITA · DEFENDER · #3
26 JUN 1968 · AC Milan
Il Capitano
ITALY · #3

🌎 WORLD CUP RECORD

0
TITLES
23
MATCHES
0
GOALS
YEARHOSTAPPSGOALSRESULT
1990Italy70 3RD PLACE
1994United States70 RUNNER-UP
1998France50 QUARTER-FINAL
2002South Korea / Japan40 ROUND OF 16
█ ATTRIBUTES
PACE 84
SHOOTING 55
PASSING 84
DRIBBLING 80
DEFENDING 93
PHYSICAL 85

⚡ DEFINING MOMENTS

▲ 1990 · A summer of clean sheets at home
Twenty-one and already first-choice, he anchored the left of an Italy back line that went five matches without conceding on home soil. The Azzurri eventually fell to Argentina on penalties in the semi-final and took third place — a tournament defined by a defence that the rest of the world struggled to breach.
▲ 1994 · So near in the Rose Bowl
He marshalled Italy all the way to the final in the Pasadena heat, only for a goalless 120 minutes against Brazil to be settled by the first penalty shoot-out to decide a World Cup final. Italy lost; he was named to the tournament's all-star team for the second time running.
▲ 2002 · Captain's farewell in the Far East
His fourth tournament and his last as Italy captain ended in a contentious round-of-16 defeat to co-hosts South Korea. He walked away from the national team with 126 caps and not a single World Cup goal — a record that says everything about where he did his work.

📜 CAREER TIMELINE

1985
Makes his AC Milan debut at sixteen, beginning a one-club career that would span 25 seasons.
1988
Earns his first Italy cap, opening a fourteen-year international career.
1990
First World Cup on home soil: seven appearances and a third-place finish behind a record-setting defence.
1994
Reaches the World Cup final in the United States; Italy lose the shoot-out to Brazil.
1998
Captains Italy to the quarter-finals in France, eliminated by the hosts on penalties.
2002
Plays his fourth and final World Cup as captain, then retires from Italy with 126 caps.
◄ SCROLL ►
█ THE ALMANAC SPEAKS
PROF. INKSWORTH:

Four tournaments, twenty-three matches, and not one goal — and yet the almanac files him among the very greatest defenders to grace the competition. He reached a final and a semi-final without ever lifting the trophy, the great unfinished business of an otherwise complete career. The record shows no goals; the footage shows why none were needed from him.

  • He played four World Cups and scored in none of them — all seven of his Italy goals came in home friendlies and qualifiers, never at the finals.
  • His closest brush with the trophy was 1994, lost to Brazil in the first World Cup final ever decided by a penalty shoot-out.
  • He spent his entire 25-season club career at a single club, AC Milan, which retired his number 3 shirt when he hung it up.
Ready.
Zone: Historical