Paolo Maldini: Remembering Il Capitano's First Year as a Professional

​In a country revered for churning out generational defensive talent at a frightening canter, Paolo Maldini may well be the pick of the bunch.

Following in the footsteps of his late father Cesare, Paolo would go on to become the cornerstone of Arrigo Sacchi's 'Immortals' and Fabio Capello's 'Invincibles' at AC Milan, as the Rossoneri morphed into one of the most dominant club sides in history.

Maldini's 25-year career was one spent almost entirely in the elite echelons of the game; Il Capitano learned from the best, formed partnerships with the greatest and took the next batch of stellar defensive talent under his wing during his later days at Milan.

But before all the silverware, countless appearance records and cementing himself as one of the greatest to ever do it, there was once a time when Paolo was merely known as Cesare Maldini's son.

Cesare, by the way, was a bit of a Rossoneri icon. He won four Scudetti during his 12-year spell in Milan as well as the European Cup in 1963. After he called it quits on his playing days in 1967, he'd go on to manage the club on two seperate occasions and enjoyed a two-year stint in charge of the national team between 1996 and 1998.

Anyway, back to Paolo.

Emerging as a star in Milan's triumphant Coppa Italia Primavera campaign in 1984/85 as a mere 16-year-old, Maldini would go on to make his senior debut on January 20 1985 against Zico's Udinese, replacing an injured Sergio Battistini.

"Play, it's a game," were the only words of advice from then Milan boss Nils Liedholm before a babyfaced Maldini made the plunge into an unknown world, while his professional career was interestingly launched by the late great Ray Wilkins.

With the Udinese encounter taking place against the backdrops of the Alps, the pitch had to be cleared of snow and thus icy conditions were a given. That presented an issue for the rookie, however, who was uncharacteristically ill-prepared for the extreme conditions. And as legend has it, Maldini's legendary career all began in a pair of Wilkins' trotters which were two sizes too small.

Nevertheless, it's fair to say the 16-year-old could still time a tackle as good as anyone. The youngster's versatility, ambidexterity and the sheer ease at which he shut opponents out had seen him thrust into Liedholm's plans.

However, this 44-minute showing at right-back would prove to be Maldini's sole appearance in the 84/85 season. It wasn't until the following campaign where he became a prominent member of the senior side - donning the No. 3 shirt which his father had proudly worn a generation prior.

The start of the 1985/86 campaign saw a vacancy open up at left-back and Maldini chucked into the deep end. But, as a result of his persistent work as a youth ensuring his weaker left was equals with his stronger right, the Italian was more than comfortable in the unfamiliar role and it's the position at which he defined his career during both the Sacchi and Capello era's.

It's a story which encapsulates his career in a microcosm: consistency, professionalism, reliability -Maldini had everything you wanted in a defender.

Nevertheless, the 85/86 season at San Siro saw the foundations of a revolutionary backline beginning to take shape. Mauro Tassotti (28 appearances) and Franco Baresi (20 appearances) typically lined up alongside Maldini in defence - who started 27 of Milan's 30 Serie A games - while Alessandro Costacurta had started to emerge from the youth ranks.

The Rossoneri conceded just 24 goals that year - which was still only good enough for the fourth best defensive record in the division and highlighted the clear emphasis on 'catenaccio' in a pre-Sacchi Italian football world - but the fact they scored a tame 26 at the other end meant they finished seventh in the table.

Nevertheless, at the tender age of 17, it was clear this graceful Paolo sucker was a little bit special.

He wasn't just merely another talent to come out of the defender-making factories seemingly placed in every Italian city.