Daniel Maldini has followed in the footsteps of his father Paolo and grandfather Cesare by representing Milan and demonstrating his\u00a0exciting potential.<\/p>\n
The 18-year-old creative midfielder scored his first senior goal for the San Siro club\u00a0during their 4-1 friendly win over Monza, with a right footed finish into the far top corner, emphatically sealing his participation in becoming\u00a0the third generation of his family to represent Milan.<\/p>\n
Daniel, the youngest son of former Milan captain and current club director Paolo, was swift in demonstrating his change in pace after linking up with\u00a0Lucas Paqueta to run through on goal and curl the ball past\u00a0Eugenio Lamanna in the 40th minute.<\/p>\n
When asked to touch on his son Daniel’s potential at the club, Paolo said:<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has already played two matches in Serie A, the excitement is gone. Now it’s up to him to consolidate his position within the first team and try to find space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel made his debut for the club back in February by coming off the bench in Milan’s 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona.<\/p>\n
Daniel’s club legend father, Paolo, was only 16 when he made his first\u00a0appearance in a 1-1 draw away to Udinese in January 1985. The senior Maldini then\u00a0went on to represent the club on 901 occasions, scoring 33 goals and winning 24 trophies before hanging up his boots in June 2009.<\/p>\n
Having carved out for himself a reputation for being one of the best defender of the 1990s, Paolo two key trademarks were telling – one was an unshakeable commitment to fair play, with the other being an almost supernatural ability to slide tackle a winger with clinical precision, before springing back to his feet and swiftly making off with the ball.<\/p>\n
AC Milan was Paolo\u2019s only ever club that he represented, despite attempted swoops from Juventus and Chelsea.<\/p>\n
The Milan superstar retired in 2009 after winning 7 league titles, 5 European Cups and Champions Leagues during his 902 appearances in all competitions.<\/p>\n
Taking it back yet another generation,\u00a0Paolo’s father Cesare represented the Rossoneri as both player-cum-coach, and was the first Milan captain to lift the European Cup in 1963.<\/p>\n
Manchester United doyen Sir Alex Ferguson at one time actually even confessed to asking Cesare to join United in an attempt to lure him to Old Trafford.<\/p>\n
Kudos to the Maldini\u2019s for their erstwhile family tradition over 3 generations in doing football proud. And now the youngest Maldini, Daniel, is carrying on the tradition and maintaining the proud legacy of the family.<\/p>\n
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