milanhime夜未眠

Maldini makes Serie A history

Sunday 25 September, 2005
 
Paolo Maldini and Andriy Shevchenko made Serie A history for Milan today, the captain beating Dino Zoff’s all-time record with his 571st appearance.

Maldini had already matched the 570 League caps during the Rossoneri’s 2-1 defeat at Sampdoria last week and today became the most experienced player ever to grace the Italian top flight.

“I think that I’ve aged fairly well,” smiled the 37-year-old who made his debut in a goalless draw against Udinese on January 20, 1985. “My spirit remains child-like, although my knees are slightly less so, but I do intend to play until my contract expires on June 30, 2007.”

The legendary defender marked this extraordinary achievement on the day of his 801st official match for Milan and made a very special announcement.

“I am proud to confirm that my son Christian will start training with the Milan youth system from Monday,” said the son of club legend Cesare Maldini. This will be the third generation of Maldini’s in the Rossoneri colours.
(said the son of club legend Cesare Maldini這個英文用詞真好玩,一句話就把一家三代的傳承說出來了...)

Club Vice-President Adriano Galliani noted, “What more can one say about Paolo Maldini? To play for 20 years with the same side is remarkable and I’m not sure it’ll ever happen again in this sport. He has a contract until 2007, but I’d like to negotiate for another year. We’ll retire his Number 3 jersey when he retires, but keep it in storage for when his son grows up.”
(我就知道嘛....怎麼可能把No.3永久退休,一個搞不好,未來還有可能出現C.Maldini和D.Maldini的名字呢,不過背號要怎麼辦?　一個是No.3,另一個就No.33好啦....說的好像真的一樣.....不過希望這兩個小寶貝頂得住壓力,才可能承繼這個優良傳統啦....)

It was also an historic moment for Andriy Shevchenko, whose goal in the 2-0 victory over Treviso this afternoon was his 150th for the club. This allows the Ballon d’Or winner to match the total set by Jose Altafini and he is now the joint third all-time hitman for Milan.

The next target for Sheva is Gianni Rivera on 164, though the leader remains Gunnar Nordahl, who scored 221 goals for the San Siro side between 1948 and ’56.