Paolo Maldini reveals Silvio Berlusconi called him just a few days before dying to talk about possible swap deals, while Carlo Ancelotti looks calm but has ‘a mask.’
Maldini released an extended interview with Radio Serie A, discussing several matters, including his career as a footballer and his coaches at Milan, the only club in his career.
Maldini made his Serie A debut in January 1985 at just 16 under Nils Liedholm and barely a year later, in February 1986, Berlusconi acquired the Rossoneri.
“Berlusconi brought a modern and visionary idea to football and the world in general,” said Maldini.
“I remember his first speech. We were in a dining room at Milanello, and he said he wanted us to play the best football in the world, playing in the same way at home and away. He was convinced we’d soon become world champions. He arrived in the middle of the season, but from the following campaign, everything changed. Gym, nutrition, a new coach and new fitness coaches. He had already imagined the appropriate structure to compete with the best teams in the world.”
Arrigo Sacchi turned Berlusconi’s dream into reality.
“Sacchi revolutionised our way of training and play. He hadn’t done much at a high level in football and this raised some doubts, but when we understood the real advantages, we started flying. Berlusconi did a lot, he left his mark everywhere,” said Maldini.
Maldini reveals Berlusconi’s call before passing away
“The president [Berlusconi] always told me: ‘I am like your father’ and so it was. Two years ago, he invited me to Arcore for lunch with Galliani. Looking to the past, I thanked them for what they had done for me, Milan and football. I told them: ‘I realise just now the greatness of what has been done.’ An enormous job. When Berlusconi was released from hospital, only a few days before dying [on June 12, 2023], he called me for some swap deals he wanted to make at Monza. He spoke to me about his footballers, who he knew so well. Football has accompanied him until the end, and he lived it as a passion so he could transmit it to coaches and footballers.
“With Sacchi [coaching Milan], we were immediately at his disposal, but it was really hard—physically and mentally,” continued Maldini.
“I overtrained for months, and this wasn’t good for me. We had to calibrate it to perform well in games. I was young, and I had highs and lows; I didn’t have the stability of established players. It was hard, and sometimes, on Friday, I asked myself how I could play the following Sunday. It seemed impossible, but all this raised the bar for everyone and it was a good thing for everybody. Sacchi taught us how to win and that Milan’s side had great players. However, when you find such an exigent coach, who has to manage the group, it ends sooner or later. When you are so obsessed, you easily burn out, and it happens to all great coaches.”
Fabio Capello arrived in 1991 to replace Sacchi.
“He was very practical, slowing the pace of training sessions but continuing Sacchi’s work,” Maldini recalled.
“That Milan side from the beginning of the 90s was the best. The starters and reserves were all high-level. Capello added practicality to Sacchi’s concepts, which were sometimes utopian. But without that utopia, we would never have been so successful. It was a perfect combination, and I was lucky to have these coaches, exactly in this order: Liedholm, Sacchi, and Capello. It was an evolution for Milan and at a personal level.”
Maldini on Ancelotti’s ‘mask’
Ancelotti was Maldini’s last coach at Milan as both left the club in 2009. The Italian tactician was hired by Chelsea, while the Azzurri legend hung his boots. Maldini and Ancelotti had previously played together at Milan.
“It was natural because you can’t pretend that there wasn’t a past together. It was all natural because there was respect for roles and people,” said Maldini.
“Carlo is a calm person, but it’s a mask. Many times, before big games, he’d come to me and say, ‘I am nervous, but I look at how relaxed you are, and I calm down.’ I did the same with him. We showed this apparent calm to the whole environment that needed it.”
During the same interview, Maldini explained why he no longer watches the Rossoneri at San Siro, congratulated Inter directors on winning the Serie A title and revealed his stance on the Ballon d’Or.