Paolo reached the glory and the fame of his father and surpassed it. The history of AC Milan is bounded by the Maldini dynasty. We wait for the next generation and hope that the grandsons will follow the steps of this two "giants".Paolo Maldini set a record for Serie A appearances on Sunday when he took to the field for the 571st time in Italy's top flight -- a day before his son is due to start his career with the club.
AC Captain Paolo Maldini's appearance against Treviso took him past Dino Zoff's record of 570 games and with another season left on his contract the former Italy international could go beyond 600 Serie A games before retiring.
It is the second time that the 37-year-old has broken an appearance record set by former Juventus keeper Zoff -- Maldini replaced the captain of Italy's 1982 World Cup-winning side as the national side's most capped player, a record he still holds with 126 appearances.
Maldini, who made his Serie A debut in a 1-1 draw with Udinese on January 20 1985, has played 801 games in all competitions for the club where he has spent the whole of his career.
Most of Maldini's career has been spent at left-back, a role in which he has been considered the best in the world for more than a decade, but in recent years he has preserved his energy and used his experience as a central defender.
In both roles he has brought his qualities of exceptional reading of the game, outstanding timing, calmness and intelligence along with a high level of competitiveness that has almost never spilled over into aggression.
During his 20 years with the club Maldini has collected seven Serie A titles and four European Cups.
The last triumph in Europe came in 2003 when Maldini raised the Champions League trophy at Old Trafford in Manchester following victory on penalties against fellow Italians Juventus.
That honour came 40 years after his father Cesare captained Milan to their first European honour with victory over Benfica in the 1963 European Cup final also played in England, at Wembley stadium.
CLUB CAREER
Cesare Maldini, who has coached his son with both the club and national team, remains part of the Milan set-up working as head of the scouting team.
Paolo Maldini retired from the Italian national team after the 2002 World Cup and has resisted several attempts to lure him back into the Azzurri set-up in order to focus on his club career.
His contract with Milan runs until the end of next season and he said this week that he intended to see out that deal despite suggestions that he might hang up his boots next year due to niggling problems with his knee.
"I think I have aged pretty well. My spirit is still that of a kid, the knee a little less so but I will look to honour my contract until June 30 2007," he said.
The Maldini family connection at Milan could be extended for many more years with Paolo's nine-year-old son Christian joining the club's youth system at the Linate training camp on Monday.
"He enjoys the game and that is the only thing that you can know about him at the moment," said Paolo, "If he really wants to be a footballer than he will know how to handle all the pressures there will be for him."
