Paolo Maldini discussed his family bond with Milan, the DNA of the club and their future. “We’re laying the foundations, but ready to make a leap forward.”
The club legend returned last season as a technical director after many years away from San Siro and spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport magazine SportWeek about the past, present and future of the Diavolo.
Paolo Maldini discussed his family bond with Milan, the DNA of the club and their future. “We’re laying the foundations, but ready to make a leap forward.”
The club legend returned last season as a technical director after many years away from San Siro and spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport magazine SportWeek about the past, present and future of the Diavolo.
“The passion for football and for Milan is a spontaneous and natural one in my family, it has never been drilled into us. My father let me decide if I wanted to have a trial with the Milan or Inter academies, if I wanted to play in goal or as an outfield player.
“I took the same approach with my sons, as I never forced Christian or Daniel to play for or even support Milan.”
There are now three generations of Maldini who have worn the Rossoneri jersey, with Cesare and Paolo lifting the European Cup.
“I never asked my father what Milan represented to him, nor did I try to explain it to my children. It’s one of those things you’re better off discovering in your own way.”
That doesn’t mean Paolo Maldini cannot try to identify it for himself and new players who aren’t in the family.
“Milan’s values are universally recognised as passion, elegance and ambition. It has always been a technically-gifted team, one that wants to propose quality football. That’s in our DNA, more than many would think, all the way from the youth academy.
“We had some bad falls, but always got back on top. Admittedly, we are talking about different eras, as with Silvio Berlusconi it was easier to climb back up, because we had a strong club structure behind us and less competition too.
“Now all the English clubs and many others in Europe can afford to spend big money on the transfer market.”
Following the Yonghong Li era and now under the guidance of Elliott Management, how are Milan preparing for the next step?
“In order to change things, you need a medium-term plan,” continued Maldini.
“It’s also important to have the ambition of grabbing a chance when it passes by and speeding up. If we hadn’t done that, we would not have won the Scudetto with Alberto Zaccheroni and at least a couple of Champions League trophies.
“We’ve got to be ready to get on that train of opportunity when it comes by, because you can suddenly find yourself at the same level as the others, if not better.
“So, we are working to lay the foundations at Milan, but are also ready to make a leap forward.”