Cesare Maldini (; 5 February 1932 – 3 April 2016) was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender.
Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Triestina, before transferring to AC Milan in 1954, whom he captained to win four Serie A league titles, one European Cup and one Latin Cup during his twelve seasons with the club. He retired in 1967, after a season with Torino. Internationally, he played for Italy, earning 14 caps and participating in the 1962 World Cup. He served as team captain for both Milan and Italy.
As a manager, he also coached his former club Milan on two occasions, as well as Italian sides Foggia, Ternana and Parma. He had a successful career in charge of the Italy under-21 side, winning the European Under-21 Championship a record three consecutive times; he later also coached the Italy senior team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and the Paraguay national football team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Early and personal life The son of Albino Maldini, a sailor, and Maria Vodeb, Cesare Maldini was born in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. His family was of mixed Italian-Slovenian descent. He married Maria Luisa (Marisa; née Mazzucchelli, 1939–2016) in 1962; together they had six children: three sons and three daughters. One of his sons, Paolo, also had a successful football career as a defender with Milan, and also once held the record for the most caps for the Italy national team (now third behind Gianluigi Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro). Paolo Maldini captained Milan to the UEFA Champions League title in 2003 and 2007, and won the trophy five times in total. Maldini's grandsons Christian and Daniel played football in the Milan academy, with Christian last playing in Serie C and Daniel currently playing at Atalanta.
The young Maldini also studied to be a dental technician in case he didn't succeed in football.
Club career Maldini began his playing career with local side Triestina, in 1952, and made his Serie A debut in his first season with the club, on 24 May 1953, in a 0–0 away draw against Palermo. After two seasons with Triestina, Maldini transferred to AC Milan in 1954, where he went on to achieve notable successes both domestically and internationally in the team's starting line-up, also becoming an important figure at the club. He made his debut with the club on 19 September 1954, in a 4–0 league win over his former side, featuring in a Milan team which included several important players at the time, such as Lorenzo Buffon, Francesco Zagatti, Nils Liedholm, Gunnar Nordahl, and Juan Alberto Schiaffino; he immediately broke into the first team and won his first league title in his debut season with the squad. In total, he made 347 appearances for Milan in Serie A, scoring 3 goals, and made 412 appearances for the club in all competitions. Maldini won four league titles with Milan, and also later became the team's captain in 1961, a role which he held for five years, until he left the club, and was succeeded by Gianni Rivera. During his time with Milan, he won a Latin Cup in 1956 and then went on to capture the club's first ever European Cup as team captain in 1963, as Milan defeated Benfica 2–1 at Wembley Stadium on 22 May, with two goals from José Altafini; as a result, Milan became the first Italian side ever to win the trophy, while Maldini became the first Italian captain to lift the cup. He made his final appearance for Milan on 22 May 1966, in a 6–1 home win over Catania, in Serie A. In 1966 he moved to Torino for a season, before retiring in 1967; he made his final Serie A appearance on 28 May, in a 2–1 away defeat to Napoli.
International career At international level Maldini earned 14 caps for the Italy national football team between 1960 and 1963, also serving as the national team's captain between 1962 and 1963, but was less successful than with Milan. He made his debut on 6 January 1960, in a 3–0 win over Switzerland in the 1955–60 Central European International Cup, and later took part in the 1962 FIFA World Cup with Italy, making two appearances in the competition. The team suffered a disappointing and controversial first-round elimination, although he was named to the team of the tournament for his performances. He made his final appearance for Italy in a European championship qualifier in Moscow, in 1963, as Italy suffered a 2–0 away defeat to the Soviet Union.
Style of play Maldini was a defender noted for his aerial ability, technique, passing range, anticipation and timing of challenges. During his career, he received five yellow cards and was sent off only once. Maldini a tactically versatile player, although he was usually used as a man-marking centre-back, or as a sweeper, he was also capable of functioning as a full-back on either side of the pitch due to his stamina and agility on the pitch, but was usually fielded on the right flank when played in this position; he was even used as a defensive midfielder on occasion, due to his tendency to advance into midfield when in possession of the ball and start attacking plays from the back. Despite his reputation as a world-class defender, in his early career Maldini was at times also known for being overly confident in possession, and for having a penchant to take risks when carrying or playing the ball out of the defence, due to his passing accuracy and ability on the ball; this tendency occasionally led to sporadic and atypical defensive errors, which were later dubbed Maldinate by the Italian media.
Managerial career
Early career After retiring from playing, Maldini became a coach, starting his career as an assistant manager for Nereo Rocco at Milan in 1970, and later also coached the team between 1972 and 1974, while Rocco served as the club's technical director. Maldini's first official match as Milan's head coach came on 6 September 1972, in a 4–1 away win over FA Red Boys Differdange in the Cup Winners' Cup; Maldini won a Coppa Italia and a Cup Winners' Cup double in 1973, and also narrowly missed out on the league title that season. However, Milan also suffered a 6–1 defeat on aggregate to Ajax in the European Super Cup; this was the worst defeat for an Italian team in an UEFA competition final. He was sacked by the club in 1974, following a disappointing 2–1 defeat to Verona on 6 April, and was replaced by Giovanni Trapattoni for the final few games of the season. He later went on to coach Foggia (1974–1976), Ternana (1976–77), and Serie C1 side Parma (1978–80), helping the team to obtain Serie B promotion during his tenure with the club, after managing a second-place finish in the league during the 1978–79 Serie C1 season.
Between 1980 and 1986, he was one of Enzo Bearzot's assistants for the Italy national team, and even served as his assistant manager during the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, which Italy won.
Italy under-21 coach Maldini took charge of the Italian Under-21 side in 1986, and coached the team for ten years, winning the European Under-21 Championship tournament a record three consecutive times between 1992 and 1996. As Italy's Under-21 coach, Maldini was also known as a mentor for many of the team's players, who later stated that he played a key role in their development; indeed, former protégés Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon and Francesco Totti from Maldini's 1996 Under-21 European Championship-winning squad went on to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He also coached the Italian Olympic teams that took part at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.
1998 World Cup with the Italy senior team Following his successes with the Under-21 side, Maldini took charge of the senior team in December 1996, replacing Arrigo Sacchi. After taking over as the national team's manager, he helped Italy to a crucial 1–0 away victory over England at Wembley Stadium on 12 February 1997, and successfully aided the team to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup undefeated through the play-offs against Russia. Under Maldini, Italy were one of the four teams who also took part in the 1997 Tournoi de France friendly tournament, against his wishes, in preparation for the 1998 World Cup; Italy finished in last place, suffering a 2–0 loss in the opening match against England, and subsequently drawing 3–3 and 2–2 with Brazil and hosts France respectively.
Despite initially struggling in qualification, the Italian media and fans had great expectations of the 1998 side, which included a strong defence, and several prolific attacking players, such as Christian Vieri, Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi, among others, in their prime. Cesare Maldini's son, Paolo, was captain of the team. Italy were drawn in Group B of the tournament with Chile, Cameroon and Austria. They won their group, drawing 2–2 with Chile in their opening game, and then beating Cameroon 3–0 and Austria 2–1. Advancing to the Round of 16, Italy then beat Norway 1–0 to secure a spot in the quarter-finals against tournament hosts France. After a goalless draw, Italy were eventually eliminated by the eventual champions on penalties.
Although Italy did not lose a match at the World Cup, Maldini resigned after the tournament due to heavy criticism in the Italian media over his allegedly ultra-defensive and "old-fashioned" catenaccio-inspired tactics, which included the use of a traditional man-marking defensive back-line, as well as a sweeper. He was also condemned for leaving Gianfranco Zola out of the squad, and for his reluctance to field creative forwards Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero alongside each other in the front-line, opting instead to have one player come on for the other in the second half; these controversial substitutions were compared to those made between Sandro Mazzola and Gianni Rivera by Ferruccio Valcareggi, the Italian manager at the 1970 World Cup.
Milan return and 2002 World Cup with Paraguay After serving as a head scout for his former team Milan from February 1999, Maldini briefly returned to coach the Milan first team in March 2001, serving as an interim manager for the club (whose captain was his son, Paolo) alongside youth coach Mauro Tassotti, following Alberto Zaccheroni's sacking, and led the squad for their final games of the season. Although the club endured a disappointing season, finishing in sixth place and failing to qualify for the Champions League, Maldini did lead the team to a memorable 6–0 victory over cross-city rivals Inter in the Milan Derby on 11 May; the result was Inter's worst-ever home defeat in Serie A, and Milan's biggest league win in the Derby. After helping the club to qualify for the UEFA Cup, Maldini was replaced by Fatih Terim the following season, although he initially remained with the club as an advisor to the coach.
In January 2002, Maldini became coach of Paraguay. His appointment caused some controversy as domestic managers were overlooked (prompting the managers union to try to unsuccessfully expel him for immigration breaches), and because he spoke little Spanish. Maldini nonetheless had the support of star goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert and several other senior players. He took over the team which had already qualified for the 2002 World Cup hosted by South Korea and Japan; at the age of 70, he became, what was at the time, the oldest coach to ever be in charge of a national side at a World Cup tournament (his son Paolo captained Italy in the same tournament); this record was later broken by Greece's coach Otto Rehhagel in the 2010 World Cup.
Despite missing Chilavert for the first game due to suspension, Paraguay managed to advance from Group B to the Round of 16, after a 2–2 draw with South Africa, a 3–1 defeat from Spain, and a 3–1 victory over Slovenia. In the Round of 16, Paraguay were eliminated by the finalist Germany, losing 1–0 thanks to an 89th-minute goal by Oliver Neuville.
Style of management