AC Milan’s Daniel Maldini – son of club legend Paolo – scores his first senior goal for the San Siro side in their friendly win over Monza as the 18-year-old underlines his exciting potential
- Daniel Maldini scored his first senior goal for AC Milan in their win over Monza
- The creative midfielder scored with a right footed finish into the far top corner
- The 18-year-old has become the third generation of his family to represent Milan
Daniel Maldini scored his first senior goal for AC Milan during their 4-1 friendly win over Monza.
The 18-year-old creative midfielder has followed in the footsteps of his father Paolo and grandfather Cesare by representing Milan and demonstrating his exciting potential.
Daniel – who is the youngest son of former Milan captain and current club director Paolo – scored their second goal with a right footed finish into the far top corner.
Daniel Maldini scored his first senior goal for AC Milan during their 4-1 win over Monza
The youngster demonstrated his change in pace after linking up with Lucas Paqueta to run through on goal and curl it past Eugenio Lamanna in the 40th minute.
Speaking of Daniel’s potential at the club, his father Paolo has said: ‘He 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.’
Daniel made his debut for the club back in February by coming off the bench in Milan’s 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona.
Daniel’s father, Paolo, was two years his junior when he made his first appearance in a 1-1 draw away to Udinese in January 1985.
The 18-year-old followed in the footsteps of father and current club director Paolo Maldini
While his grandfather, Cesare Maldini, also played for Milan & lifted the European Cup in 1963
Paolo went on to represent the club on 901 occasions, scoring 33 goals and winning 24 trophies before hanging up his boots in June 2009.
Known for being one of the best defender of the 1990s, Paolo had two trademarks: one was an unshakeable commitment to fair play. The other was a supernatural ability to slide tackle a winger with clinical precision, before springing back to his feet and running off with ball.
Paolo only ever represented Milan, despite an attempted swoop from Juventus and later Chelsea.
Sir Alex Ferguson even confessed to asking Paolo’s father, Cesare, to lure him to Old Trafford.
The Milan superstar retired in 2009 after winning 7 league titles, 5 European Cups and Champions Leagues during his 902 appearances in all competitions.
While, Paolo’s father Cesare represented the Rossoneri as both a player and a coach, and was the first Milan captain to lift the European Cup in 1963.