Daniel Maldini's AC Milan debut against Hellas Verona makes him the third generation of his family to play for the club, after dad Paolo and grandfather Cesare
AC Milan endured a disappointing afternoon at the San Siro, as a 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona kept them eighth in Serie A, seven points adrift of the Champions League places.
Stefano Piolo’s side dominated the match, recording 26 shots to Verona’s seven, but were unable to secure all three points despite playing against ten men for the last 22 minutes.
Davide Faraoni put the visitors ahead before Hakan Calhanoglu equalised, his 25-yard free taking a deflection on its way into the net.
As Milan chased an injury-time winner, Pioli turned to 18-year-old Daniel Maldini on the bench, bringing him on to create a piece of history on an otherwise forgettable occasion.
Maldini’s father Paolo, and grandfather Cesare, are both legendary figures at the club, having made more than 1300 appearances in the famous black and red stripes between them.
Paulo and Cesare were both Italian international defenders who helped Milan to multiple titles during long and illustrious spells at the club.
In contrast, Daniel Maldini is an attacking midfielder more adept at creating goals than stopping them. His older brother Christian also came through the Milan youth system but failed to make an appearance for the first team.
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Although Maldini had little time to make an impact, his mere presence on the pitch was significant in itself. His Milan debut comes 35 years after his father’s and 66 years after his grandfather’s, building on a hugely impressive dynasty.
Paolo Maldini, who now works as the Rossoneri’s technical director, was present to witness his son’s introduction to life in Serie A.
He retired from playing at the end of the 2008/09 season with an incredible record, featuring seven league titles, five European crowns and more than 100 caps for his country.
Widely regarded as one of the best defenders of all time, Paolo was later inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. His son certainly has a lot to live up to.
Sean Cole is a freelance journalist. He has written for FourFourTwo, BBC Sport and When Saturday Comes among others. A Birmingham City supporter and staunch Nikola Zigic advocate, he once scored a hat-trick at St. Andrew’s (in a half-time game). He also has far too many football shirts and spends far too much time reading the Wikipedia pages of obscure players.
