Daniel Maldini made his milan debut.
Ibrahimovic and Kyle were absent from the flu, Conte tonsils were inflamed, and AC Milan failed to continue the good momentum of three consecutive wins in the early morning of the 3rd - in the San Siro, despite playing an overwhelming 26-7 shot, only got a 1-1.
But in the 93rd minute, when the fans had already defaulted to a draw, they had an unexpected surprise: an 18-year-old came off the bench, and Milan finally had the first "post-00s" player to play in Serie A; of course, more importantly, the young man was called Daniel Maldini.
The inheritance of this great surname in Milan officially came to the third generation today.
The great Maldini family.
Three generations of grandchildren, all of whom are called Maldini
In the history of AC Milan and even Italian football, the surname Maldini is thunderous.
César Maldini joined the club in 1954 and has won four Serie A titles and one Champions League for the club in 12 years, and he was also the first Italian to lift the Big Ear Cup. Later in his coaching career, César Maldini also led the Italian national team to the World Cup in France.
But people used to call César Maldini the Elder because Cesar had a son, Paul Maldini.
In terms of playing career, Maldini Jr. is blue, from his debut in 1985 to his retirement at the age of 41 in 2009, Paul made 902 appearances for the Rossoneri, won 26 championship trophies, he is the flag and totem of Milan, and a symbol of football loyalty.
Does the big boy in front of him have anything to do with the Maldini father and son? He was Cesar's grandson, Paul's son. When Daniel stepped on the turf of San Siro, his grandfather could only watch in the sky as his grandson took over the family's mantle.
Maldini the Elder passed away in April 2016, but the father, Paulo, who is currently the club director of Milan, sat in the audience watching his son's every move.
Daniel's actual playing time is only two minutes, and the young player born in October 2001 cannot influence the outcome of the game, but for the Maldini family and even for Milan, this moment is of great significance.
After waiting for 11 years, after 3899 days, the red and black robes were once again printed with the letters of Maldini.
'Today my dream came true, playing for the Milan first team has always been my dream and it's a shame we didn't win.' Daniel was particularly excited after the game, but he had already exuded maturity beyond this age.
He told Milan TV, "Hopefully we can take all three points in the next game and we can do more, I was very excited, and my father told me to calm down and stay calm." ”
Daniel is more talented in football than his older brother.
The story of the brother became "Wounded Zhongyong"
With the blood of the Maldini family, Daniel is ready to look forward, and coach Pioli also objectively commented on his players after the game, "He has strength and talent. But talent alone is not enough, I hope he has more opportunities. ”
As the coach said, good football genes are not enough to help a player succeed, and Milan fans have always believed that the Maldini family is destined to continue to play for the Rossoneri, but this expectation was not placed on Daniel at the beginning.
In September 2005, when a 9-year-old named Christian Maldini was sent to the Milan base, it attracted the attention of the media and fans, Christian, the oldest son of Daniel's brother and Paulo Maldini, who played as a defender like his father and grandfather and was considered the perfect choice to continue the family tradition.
After more than 10 years, when it comes to Maldini's son, the first thing that comes to mind is Christian.
On 30 November 2014, In an Italian youth match, Christian Maldini, who played for AC Milan Youth, made his debut and scored a goal, but in that game Christian was injured in the middle of the game, and his development became more and more difficult, and successive injuries and poor performances kept him drifting away from Milan.
He then moved to Piacenza, and the now 23-year-old Christian has to play in the Italian Serie C...
Can Daniel continue the Maldini family's glory in Milan?
He is the leader of the youth team
Compared to his brother, Daniel had a similar starting point.
In the 2009/2010 Italian Junior League 2001, Daniel made his debut in the AC Milan Junior League and scored a goal, after which Daniel's growth path was unusually solid:
As a frontcourt attacker, he led Milan U13 to the league title, was selected for the Italian U15 youth team in 2016, and led milan under the Milan U16 echelon to the league championship in the 2016/2017 season as the no. 10 forward player...
On 8 September 2018, in a warm-up match between AC Milan and Serie A side Piacenza, the 16-year-old Daniel was called up for the first team of the Rossoneri for the first time and came on as a substitute in the second half of the match, while his brother started for Piacenza.
It's a dialogue between brothers, a substitute, a starter, but the different levels of the team and the difference in age seem to have determined that the brothers' careers will have a completely different direction. Daniel, who returned to the youth team, continued his good performances, which made it all the more logical for him to continue to be called up in the first team.
Now 18 years old and 85 days old, Daniel has finally started a new page in his life in San Siro, but his number "98" reminds fans and himself that Daniel still has a long way to go before the main rotation and main force of the first team.
Now the media and fans will still call him Daniel, but the curtain has been lifted, and perhaps in the days to come, people will gradually get used to calling him "Little Maldini", just like his father was called.