Paolo Maldini jokes he has been ‘a pensioner’ since Milan fired him, explains why watching as a director is far more stressful than playing a game and why he will ‘never be a coach.’
The 55-year-old former defender and director has been largely silent since he was unceremoniously sacked on June 5, followed swiftly by colleague Ricky Massara.
This evening he sat down for an interview with PoretCast, hosted by Giacomo Poretti, and spilled the beans on some of his career highs and lows.
“It is tough to find someone who starts and ends his career with the same club, but in my day going abroad wasn’t really in fashion and I was fortunate enough to have a President in Silvio Berlusconi who had the same objectives as me,” said Maldini.
The left-back, who transformed into a central defender as time wore on, notched up 901 career appearances for Milan from 1985 to 2009.
“I started with Franco Baresi and Beppe Bergomi, then finished with Alexandre Pato and Andrea Pirlo, so I experienced several different generations of players. I’d say the biggest change over time has been pressure, especially now there is social media.
“Sometimes families can put excess pressure on young kids too and they cannot handle it. Football is a team sport, you have to think not about yourself, but about the team, even if that means working a little harder because your teammate is having an off day. I don’t think young players always realise the power they have over fans.”
Even such an experienced figure as Maldini still admits the atmosphere at San Siro made his ‘legs tremble,’ especially when facing Inter in the Champions League derby in 2003.
“Once you reach that age and experience, you wait for nothing but those games. When people ask me what I miss, I reply the atmosphere in the locker room, that mixture between fear and excitement before a match. The contact and adrenaline high you get from the crowd.”
It was quite a long time after retirement before Maldini returned to Milan as a director in 2018.
“There is an enormous difference between the way you experience a game as a player and a director. The worst is that when you are in the stands, you ‘suffer’ the result and cannot influence it. It got me terribly agitated. Ricky Massara suffered too, but more silently!”
Although coaching could’ve been a career path, and is one many of his contemporaries have followed, Maldini ruled it out.
“I will never be a coach! I saw my father who always had a bag packed, so I know what that life is like. When I retired, I at least knew what I didn’t want to do.”
Instead, Maldini has been able to pass on some of his experience and knowledge to the players in his role as director at Milan, including Rafael Leao.
“He asked me if he could release his record two days before a big game, so I told him he had to score two goals. He didn’t, but there was an assist at least.
“Leao arrived from Lille, he was a great talent, but still had it all to prove. The rapport with the players is what remains with you, more than trophies or victories. You are at their disposal to help these lads to grow.”
What does the future hold for Maldini after this experience at Milan ended so bitterly?
“I think about it every now and then. When I turned 50, I thought, I’m halfway through and that would be frankly a good result…
“In theory I am a pensioner, or at least I have been since last summer…”