#4 Retirement of Paolo Maldini
Trending
While the life of the Italian legend Paolo Maldini could be termed as a celebration of one of the best defenders to have graced the game, it was perhaps, his retirement from the game that brought to the fore, the legendary status he has acquired for his services to AC Milan.
Termed a natural born leader, Il Capitano (The Captain) had been at the heart of the AC Milan defence when they dominated Italy and Europe and after his retirement, the footballing community came forward to applaud his contributions to the game.
Perhaps, the opinion of his former foe, the mercurial Brazilian striker Ronaldo, on Maldini, would help us find out how highly the former Milan man was rated amongst the footballing fraternity. The Brazilian was quoted as saying, “I always found it very difficult when I came up against Paolo Maldini. He was the best defender I faced over the course of my career. He definitely deserved to win the award FIFA World Player of the Year several times over.”
AC Milan, who had been the biggest beneficiaries of his abilities, duly recognised his contribution to the club and deservedly retired the No. 3 shirt in his honour, making him one of the few players ever to have their number retired when most football clubs have learned to treat players as mere commodities.
