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Daniel Maldini (born 11 October 2001) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Monza and the Italy national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Maldini | ||
| Date of birth | 11 October 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Milan, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Monza | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2020 | AC Milan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2024 | AC Milan | 15 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | → Spezia (loan) | 18 | (2) |
| 2023–2024 | → Empoli (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Monza (loan) | 11 | (4) |
| 2024– | Monza | 13 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | Italy U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019 | Italy U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021 | Italy U20 | 3 | (1) |
| 2024– | Italy | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:24, 30 November 2024 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2024 | |||
Maldini was born in Milan, the second son of Paolo Maldini, then captain of AC Milan, and Venezuelan model Adriana Fossa.[2] His grandfather Cesare also captained Milan in the 1960s, making him the third generation to make appearances for the club. His elder brother Christian played for Milan's youth teams and went on to play professionally at a lower level.
Youth career
Maldini joined Milan's youth system in 2010,[3] and over the following years he came through the various age-group teams, from the under-10 Pulcini to the under-19 Primavera. In the 2016–17 season, he was part of the squad that won the Under-16 National Championship (Campionato Nazionale Under-16), defeating Lazio 5–2 in the final.[4]
AC Milan
In July 2019, Maldini was called-up for the pre-season training with senior team by the newly appointed head coach Marco Giampaolo.[5] On 23 July 2019, Maldini made his senior debut for AC Milan in the ICC friendly tournament, playing for nearly an hour in the starting line-up against Bayern Munich in Kansas City, Kansas.[6][7]
On 2 February 2020, Maldini played his first competitive game with Milan in a 1–1 Serie A home draw against Hellas Verona, coming on as an added-time substitute for Samu Castillejo.[8]
On 15 September 2021, Maldini came off the bench against Liverpool in a 3–2 defeat on his UEFA Champions League debut.[9] On 25 September, Maldini started his first match for Milan in Serie A and scored the first goal in a 2–1 away win against Spezia.[10]
On 22 May 2022, he won his first trophy, the Serie A championship, like his father, Paolo Maldini and grandfather, Cesare Maldini before him.[11][12] Throughout the season, he did not break through into the starting lineup, playing only 239 minutes in 13 matches in the club's league-winning 2021–22 Serie A campaign.[13]
Loan to Spezia
On 29 July 2022, fellow Serie A side Spezia announced Maldini had joined the club on a one-year loan from AC Milan.[14]
On 5 November 2022, on his league debut as a starter with Spezia, Maldini scored his first Serie A goal of the season against his parent team, AC Milan.[15] On 10 March 2023, he scored a goal in a 2–1 victory over Inter Milan, to be Spezia's first ever win against the latter.[16][17]
Loan to Empoli
On 10 July 2023, fellow Serie A side Empoli announced the signing of Maldini on a one-year loan with an option to buy.[18][19]
Monza
On 10 January 2024, Milan sent Maldini on loan to fellow Serie A club Monza until the end of the 2023–24 season.[20] He scored four goals in 11 league games. The deal was made permanent on 31 July 2024, with the player signing a two-year contract.[21]
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Maldini is eligible to represent either his native country Italy or Venezuela, the latter through his mother.[citation needed] He debuted for Italy national under-18 football team in a 2–0 victory against the Netherlands on 22 March 2019.[22] Later that year, Maldini earned two caps for the under-19.[23] In 2021, he played three times for Italy under-20 and scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw against England on 7 October 2021.[24]
Maldini received his first call-up with the Italy national team for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Belgium and Israel on 10 and 14 October 2024 respectively.[25] He debuted against the latter opponent in a 4-1 victory, coming as a substitute at the 74th minute.[26]
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Although in his very early days Maldini played as a defender like both his father Paolo and grandfather Cesare, he soon started to be employed in offensive roles. Today he mainly plays as a free roaming attacking midfielder, a position that suits his playmaking ability, dribbling skills, ball control, and vision.[27]
Club
- As of match played 10 November 2024[28]
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| AC Milan | 2019–20 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| Total | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||
| Spezia (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 18 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 3 | ||
| Empoli (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Monza (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie A | 11 | 4 | — | — | — | 11 | 4 | |||
| Monza | 2024–25 | Serie A | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| Total | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 62 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 9 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of match played 17 November 2024[29]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
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AC Milan
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