Italian football masters have always been characterized by their technicality, intransigence and speed. In the galaxy of outstanding football players of the Iberian Peninsula, a man stands by the name of Maldini Cesare, who at one time was rightly considered by specialists and spectators to be one of the strongest central defenders of the entire European continent. His rich destiny and outstanding sports career will be discussed in this article.
Some facts
Maldini Cesare was born on February 5, 1932 in the Italian city of Trieste. In the best years of his performances, he was the one who was considered the most reliable stopper in Europe. The footballer played very competently, clearly and quickly chose the right position, thanks to which he practically didn’t have to slip in tackles or run after his opponents, played excellently on the “second floor”, perfectly blocked the opponent’s team with the corps of players. And even despite the fact that his growth was quite large, he was still characterized by mobility, lightness and mobility. It is noteworthy that in the club he could even cope with the role of a midfielder, while in the national team he played in the position of libero. Sometimes it could be involved as a flank defender.
Life at Milan
In one of the most powerful clubs in Italy, Maldini Cesare spent as many as thirteen seasons. Together with the team, the legendary athlete survived all periods of ups and downs. The peak of his career for the defender was the victory of AC Milan in the European Cup in 1963. Then the footballer was also a captain.
Team game
Maldini Cesare can not be called the player who spent a lot of matches for the main team of the country. But at the same time, his authority during performances in it was unquestionable and undeniable. For all his playing practice, he was only 14 times drafted into the Italian national team, but even during such a period he was able to become its captain. As a player, he participated in the 1962 World Cup and the European Championship in 1964.
In the coaching post
Cesare Maldini is a coach who during his lifetime was very respected. For five years, at the beginning of his leadership career, he worked as an assistant coach for Milan, after which he was already head coach in Foggia, Ternar, Parma, where he could not achieve any significant results.
However, in the period 1986-1996, the Italian was able to fully reveal himself as a magnificent mentor. It was during this decade that he was able to win the European Cup three times with the Italian youth team and raise a galaxy of football players who later became real world stars.
Work with “Squadra Azzurra”
Success with the youth team quite logically led to the fact that Cesare Maldini received an invitation to lead the main team. And in December 1996, he officially became the head coach of the Italian number one team. Compared to his predecessor named Arigo Saki, who was a lover of various high-sounding phrases, Maldini was much simpler, and in communicating with the players very often made even excessive softness, he did not always clearly distance himself, which ultimately led to not very good results. As Italian journalists said then, the team has not yet seen a softer coach.
Italy with great difficulty was able to break into the main draw of the 1998 World Cup, on the way overcoming the Russian national team in the playoffs. But already on the fields of France, Italian football players could not create such a miracle expected from them, losing to the future champions - hosts of the tournament to the French in the quarter-finals. As a result, such a result led to the fact that Cesare could not stand the pressure and resigned, because only the championship was expected from him. Although, objectively speaking, he did everything he could. The defense was at its best (the team did not lose a single match in the group, and this is already a very high indicator), the attack regularly scored, but the midfield deflated, since in Italy itself foreign players played mainly in these positions in clubs. Simply put, staff shortages have done their disastrous business.
A family
The biography of Cesare Maldini will be inferior, if you do not indicate his large family. His wife's name is Maria Louise Maldini. The couple raised six children: three sons - Paolo, Pierchezare and Alessandro, three daughters - Monica, Dontaella, Valentina. There are already grandchildren. The four heirs, like their father, devoted themselves to sport.
Departure to South America
Cesare Maldini, a biography whose achievements are worthy of all respect, led the Paraguayan national team before the start of the 2002 World Cup. It goes without saying that the team did not become the world champion, but was able to reach the eighth finals, which at that time was the maximum bar for hot Latinos.
Initially, the press predicted the departure of Tunisia and work with the national team there, but in the end the coach was on a completely different side of the planet, and, as he claimed, his son Paolo actively contributed to this decision in many ways.
By the way, Paolo himself at the time had a lot of complaints from journalists and his colleagues. During his stay in the national team, which was then coached by his father, he stubbornly refused to call Cesare “Mr.”, as professional etiquette demanded, and called “Dad”, motivating him to not name his father somehow to another.
Death
The legendary footballer and coach died on April 3, 2016. At that time he was already 84 years old. The grateful audience in honor of the great athlete decided to break up the park of his name near the Milan San Siro stadium, thereby paying tribute to him and respect.