One of the Azzurri’s call-ups for the Nations League has caused quite a stir and Giancarlo Rinaldi examines the pride and pressure on the selection of Daniel Maldini for the Azzurri squad.
Taking over the family business is always fraught with danger. It can be hard to follow in the footsteps of your parents and live up to the reputation they have carved out before you. But when the industry is football and your name is Maldini – the stress must be of almost unimaginable proportions.
Of all the names on Luciano Spalletti’s call-ups for the upcoming fixtures with Belgium and Israel, one stood out more than any other. Monza’s Daniel Maldini has been in fine form and his inclusion was regularly rumoured – but it was still big news when it became official. He only has to follow two legends of the game.
His nonno – grandfather if you must – Cesare was a Milan icon of the 1950s and 1960s and played more than a dozen times for his country. He then went on to be a hugely successful coach of Italy’s Under 21 side and also took the full international side to the 1998 World Cup. Suffice to say he was a towering figure in Italian sport.
But his father Paolo was even more of a giant for club and country. As an elegant and attacking full-back and, later, as a centre-back with impeccable reading of the game he was capped more than 100 times by the Azzurri – captaining them for the majority of those matches. He might not have won a tournament but he was there at the later stages on numerous occasions and widely recognised as one of the greatest defenders of all time.
At least young Daniel has chosen not to play in defence which can avoid him some unwanted comparisons. Indeed, he has carved out his own niche by leaving Milan – where he spent his youth career – for loan spells at Spezia, Empoli and Monza. Now aged 22 – he turns 23 on Friday – things appear to have clicked for him as the goals have started to come with reasonable regularity and he looks to establish himself as being of Serie A quality.
Some have suggested that Spalletti might have been influenced by his famous surname but that seems more than a little bit churlish. Italy are short of attacking options – even shorter after Moise Kean pulled out with injury – and have to look everywhere they can for inspiration. Maldini offers something a little bit different to other attackers and, if you can’t experiment in the Nations League, when can you?
It was clearly a more than a little emotional moment for the young man as he arrived at the Coverciano training centre to see pictures of his family on the wall. He was eligible to play for Venezuela on his mother’s side but was always going to wait to see if he could don the blue of the Bel Paese. The Italian term predestinato has probably never been more appropriately used.
His family background has surely helped him to keep a level head in all the hubbub surrounding his selection. He explained that having such famous relatives can have both positive and negative sides but he has learned to deal with it now. “As time goes by you start to understand a few things,” he said. “Whatever other people might think you’ve got to follow your own path with the goal you have in mind.”
Certainly there is no shortage of opinion out there about what he might be able to bring to the side. He might not yet be at the levels of his role model, Kakà – few players are or ever will be – but he does bring a spark of creativity and quality that could serve his country well. If his genes have anything to do with it, he should not have too many problems settling into his new surroundings.
It seems unlikely he will start – particularly against Belgium – but a few minutes against Israel should not be out of the question. If he proves to be as at home in the colours of his country as his famous forebears then it could be the start of a long and fruitful relationship. Many fans would find something reassuring in seeing his name on the team sheet as the Inno di Mameli starts to play.
He will have to earn that kind of career, of course, just as his predecessors did. In a sport that often has little sense of historical context, it is quite nice to have a little link back to the game’s past. First Cesare, then Paolo and now Daniel have formed a thread that draws together different eras and different generations who can each claim one Maldini as their own. Who knows, there might be more to follow in the years to come. But, for now, let us just enjoy what the latest in the family production line has to offer and hope he can be even a fraction of the player that the others to carry his illustrious name have been.