Matteo Gabbia passes his Serie A debut with flying colours
18 February 2020
Monday, February 3, 2020
Yesterday, we saw another milestone in one family's historic journey through football history: after making his debut at San Siro against Verona, Daniel Maldini became the third generation of his family to play for Milan.
Almost 66 years after his grandfather Cesare debuted in the Italian top flight and 35 years after his father Paolo turned out in Serie A for the first time, Daniel did the same in the closing stages of the match. In doing so, he became the first Milan player born after 1 January 2000 to play for the club in Italy’s top division. Just 18 years old, he’s part of Bollini’s Under-19 National Team setup and, as opposed to his illustrious family members, is a winger who can also play as an attacking midfielder.
It’s not a time to draw conclusions, but rather a moment to savour. It’s undoubtedly a watershed moment in the career of a young athlete who, due to the achievements of his grandfather and father, will very much be under the spotlight. The first two Maldinis haven’t just gone down in history for their spells at Milan, they also made significant contributions to the National Team: Cesare played for Italy before coaching both the Under-21 and senior sides, while Paolo was his country’s captain for many years and the record cap-holder before being surpassed by Gianluigi Buffon.
"A dream that has come true, it was really emotional," were the words of Daniel after the match. Having experienced this, he now needs to work hard and aim to forge his own successful path.