Maldini, the captain loyal to Milan and to himself. Gratitude remains – Corriere.it

mleave Paolo Maldini from Milan a voice that objectively makes a resume. I borrow this joke made on social media by a Rossoneri colleague, apologizing if I can’t find the original source. After all, since Monday evening, night included, I’ve been compulsive to any account in search of an explanation or a phrase capable of finding meaning in this separation. Because it is difficult even to conceive an article like this without starting with a cliché, but true deep down. Maldini to Milan. Now that we’ve said it, let’s move on.

Mid December 1994. The writer has the task of giving him a Christmas interview. He had just finished a double load workout. I want to speak like de ciap na cultelada he said in an improbable hint of Milanese dialect. We both laughed. He looked at me, recognizing me as the young recruit of Guido Lajolo, the doyen of journalists who followed Milan, loved by the players. Look, I’ll tell you three things, then if that’s not enough, do as you like. They told me I can trust them.

In the irrelevance of the anecdote, perhaps this is the problem. Maldini has always given the idea of ​​being a man who above all follows his own convictions and instincts. That he does not intend to derogate from what he. To recall the reasons for this presumed rigidity, once again we have to go back to the starting point. Him Paolo Maldini, for another son of Cesare. You have to take the full package. Space is missing to summarize the best years of ours and of his life, twenty-five seasons and 26 trophies, the joy of seeing him become a man in the most beautiful Milan ever, as well as the best defender in the history of football. And never a wrong word, never a draft from within.

I am a person who is loyal to the unwritten code of the players. a form of respect towards all the groups with which I have worked. I wouldn’t like to tell my truth. When you talk about a team, there is no single point of view. She said it during an interview for Seven, explaining why he was one of the few former footballers who never wrote his autobiography. At Paolo Rossi’s funeral, in a Vicenza made spooky by Covid, we saw him with red eyes and a lump. They had only been teammates for one season. But Paul fully understood the sense of loss. They were tears of pain and gratitude for a traveling companion, a piece of his life.

Loyalty to his principles, respect for his role as captain, have always cost him dearly. A few days ago, the defeat in Istanbul came of age, a Champions League final lost by a 3-0 lead. And with her, the hard-nosed answer given at the airport by Maldini to a group of ultras who blamed the collapse on the players’ lack of commitment.

I pay a painful goodbye. The shameful boos on his last lap from some fans hurt him more than he is still willing to admit today. In retrospect, the arraignment almost honored me. I have tried to live my profession by giving my best, demanding respect, and accepting defeats, which are very difficult. I’ve been myself. And if you like, thanks to those whistles, I left leaving a non-trivial mark.

Years passed. The day after his last game, he went to get a haircut. From long to short, as they are now. He was looking for normality, another world in which to feel appreciated without always being Paolo Maldini. He was beginning to understand that his name was too big, almost cumbersome. Also for the society where he was born and raised. In the meantime, the years of Milan as a joke also beganon which it is better to spread a pitiful veil.

Maldini was truly the last Thule, the legendary island to anchor a society that was losing its identity and self-respect. But she had always hoped for it, there’s no denying it. In the beginning, I would come home every night and tell my wife it was a mess. I felt useless, I wondered what I was doing. I know it’s my problem, but I have to feel like a protagonist. This too, if you like, is a phrase that reveals something.

In four scarce years of work, he has done much more than bring in Theo Hernandez or Sandro Tonali. He has reconnected the threads of history, rekindled a fire that seemed extinguished. Because Pioli is on fire, all right, but he was above everything. In London, before the return match against Tottenham, the team bus got stuck in traffic. UEFA did not intend to derogate from the start time of the match, scheduled for 21. Maldini went to speak with those in charge. It starts at 21.20.

As for this job, I do it with Milan or I don’t. In the end, let’s face it. Maldini was single-handedly following the ambition that made him what he is, a legend. Again, don’t derogate yourself. The team that brought in Lukaku and Brozovic from the bench went to Istanbul today. Talk is cheap, talking easy, one of the explanations he provides to justify his few words. The facts are better. Have a good life, Paul. Leadership comes and goes. The affection and gratitude remain, forever.