Notable Figures
Paolo came from a family of Italian soccer players, his father being Cesare Maldini. However, over the course of his 25 year career in Series A, the World Cup, etc, he became well regarded as one of, if not the best defenders of all time. Paolo first played for Milan at 16 years old in 1985. There he was mentored under countless Italian talents like Franco Baresi and Mauro Tassotti. Paolo is credited with stating, “ if I have to tackle, I have already made a mistake”, but is also known for his physicality on the pitch. Following his early years with AC Milan in the late 1980s, he learned from his mentors and applied it to his defense that he was known for during Milan’s dominance throughout the 1990s. Outside of the team’s accomplishments, Paolo was so talented that he was the first defender ever to win World Soccer magazine’s player of the year award, and the only defender ever to make the shortlist for the FIFA world player of the year. Not only was he known for his accomplishments on the pitch but was also known to be stoic(3 red cards throughout the entirety of his career), and extremely loyal. Afterall, he only ever played for AC Milan throughout his whole career. His father Cesare put it perfectly, “He’s a real Rossonero. His soul belongs to Milan.”
Kaka was a renowned Brazilian footballer, totalling in with 77 Series A goals in 223 matches, one FIFA World Player award in 2007 and a Champions League victory during the 2006-07 season. Prior to playing with AC Milan, he began his football career in Brazil where he signed a contract with São Paulo FC. His career took a turn for the worse after a swimming incident left him with a major spinal injury that left him benched for three years. Then, in 2003, he was picked up by AC Milan for a little over 8 million euros. From then on, he brought about a new Golden Age for AC Milan. After a few strong seasons with Milan, he reached a new level in the 2007 season. This resulted in him receiving the largest contract a player had signed up until that point(8 million euros per year). Due to financial difficulties, Milan let him go to Real Madrid for a couple seasons where he won La Liga in 2011-12 and the Copa del Rey in 2011-12. However, he soon came back in 2013 where he terminated his contract with AC Milan in order to play with the MLS. In all, he is a legend of the sport, and more importantly, a legend of Milan.
Nereo Rocco, El Peron, “The Mad King of Catenaccio” is often overlooked as one of the great Italian managers of all time, but his legacy as manager at AC Milan can be seen across the game of football. He is known for the catenaccio style of football that he employed on the teams he managed. This style emphasized defense, and creating offense through the defense. It added a “libero” who was like a swiss-army knife for the team, and would help out all over the defensive field where they could. Throughout his career as manager, he was known to interact with fans and past players at local bars and restaurants. He would do this with the famous editor of Gazzetta dello Sport, Gianni Brera, in order to garner good press for himself and the team. As this ritual was employed, Rocco interacted with countless fans of the team, players, and even press.