AC Milan director, Paolo Maldini, granted a long interview to those at Radio m2o. Here are his words:
"How has discipline changed? Social media have a life of their own, it's part of the life of the football player. There was much more freedom because there were fewer photographers, fewer curious people, you could have a more free and normal life. The idea that they come out more or not, I don't know ... I got to know my body along the way, I learned to manage myself, even making mistakes. Try, make mistakes but learn. This is what I tell them, every dad should do it with his children."
Can exceptional results also be achieved by devoting time to leisure?
"I had the right to have fun, there is an age for everything. This helped me to get to know other people, measure myself against other things. At twenty you also have to have fun. At the working level I started being a professional at 16. , I lost a part of that age, I never went out on Saturdays and Sundays. Then when I consolidated as a starter I had the desire and strength to go out. It's a process, you have to learn. The person most worried was my dad who was a footballer. He had the mentality of the 60s."
Maldini on his children, also being footballers:
"When my first child was born, I don't deny that I was very happy. I saw my brother-in-law, with my sister, he had two girls. Having been born in this environment I was happy to have a boy, then also the second and my wife was happy. I was pleased, but then very annoyed: the pressure of the 'footballer father', the eyes focused between the ages of 10 and 12 when you are still a child. All this attention has bothered me, but especially them. The road was difficult."
Maldini on communication:
"Communication is important, it is not my favorite branch, I preferred to play football. But when you are captain, in a great team, it is right to do it. I have always respected people who work in communication, in my way. At first you talk like other people, so you say a lot of trivia. Sometimes the question is trivial, so is the answer. As you age and experience you try to express concepts. I tried from the beginning to copy the examples I liked best. When I saw Franco Baresi play he was the best, even in training he would rather have died than concede a goal. He spoke little, but did many actions instead. He was an example who showed me a way that I already felt mine. I found myself saying things that I regretted. Now I'm on the other side, even thinking about things said as a player and as a captain… Sometimes you seem to know everything, but then when you are on the other side you understand other things better."
Maldini continued:
"After retirement, what you are missing is the adrenaline of the match. It's the thing that changed you the most in the beginning, then you get over it. Then do mundane things, like having coffee with friends, which I have never done before. I didn't have a life with fixed commitments and schedules. A second life, this is a third one: between the office and Milanello, where they train, where you stay outdoors. You sit on the bench and watch the training, talk to the players and the coach."
Maldini concluded:
