Daniel Maldini will line up against AC Milan tonight for Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico, which will be a strange feeling for him.
As Calciomercato.com report, the history of the Maldini family is closely tied to Milan. Cesare, who passed away in 2016, was a defender for Milan in the 1950s and 1960s, a key figure in the club. His son Paolo made his debut at 16, making over 900 appearances for Milan and getting 126 caps for the Italian national team.
Daniel grew up wearing the red and black shirt and made his Serie A debut on 2 February 2020, at the age of 18, replacing Samu Castillejo in the league match against Verona, 35 years after his father Paolo. Three generations in one family, but one took a different path.
Rise and farewell
From his Serie A debut in that Verona game, Daniel Maldini would go on to experience other special emotions. On September 24, 2020, he made his European debut, coming on for Lorenzo Colombo in the 3-2 UEFA Europa League preliminary round win against Bodø/Glimt.
On October 1, he made his first professional start, in the Europa League match won on penalties against Rio Ave (11-10). His sixth appearance for the first team, which took place on 6 January 2021 in the league during Milan’s 1-1 draw with Juventus, was the 1000th appearance for the Maldini family with Milan (347 Cesare, 647 Paolo and six Daniel).
On 25 September 2021, with Stefano Pioli the head coach and his father Paolo in the stands as director, Daniel scored his first professional goal against Spezia at the Stadio Picco with a header from a cross. Then, however, playing time became harder and harder to come by after the Scudetto win.
Adriano Galliani, who had known Daniel’s talent since he was little more than a child, had the intuition to bring Maldini Jr. to Monza in January 2024, marking a turning point in the career of the young forward.
His permanent departure from Milan materialised the following summer after a positive impact with the Brianza club, where he signed a two-year contract with the option to extend for a further season if certain conditions were met.
In the 2024-25 season, he played for only six months with Monza, who were in the relegation zone scoring three goals. On February 1, 2025, he was purchased outright by Atalanta for €14m, 50% of which went to Milan, and a year later he moved to the capital to join Lazio.
There’s always a certain romance when talking about Maldini and Milan, a story that Daniel was able to carry on. He scored in Serie A and played in Europe, making his father rejoice in the stands. Tonight, he will hope to get one over on his former club, but the club of his heart.
It’s difficult to say for sure what went wrong. Critics and fans are divided between those who believe he wasn’t up to the task of being a key player at Milan and those who believe he simply paid the price for Gerry Cardinale’s dismissal of his father Paolo from the club.
