Maldini reveals quit plans
Tuesday 21 November, 2006
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Milan captain Paolo Maldini is set to retire from football at the end of the season, according to the latest reports in Italy.
The Rossoneri symbol is in his 23rd campaign with the club, a new record in Italian football as the previous best was Silvio Piola’s 22, but it may also be his last.
Maldini, who will turn 39 next year, is still suffering with knee problems which haven’t been solved by the surgery he had in Belgium at the end of the last campaign.
“Things are not going well,” said the captain to some friends, according to Il Corriere dello Sport. “Both knees hurt and it isn’t easy to train this way.
“I have played some good matches recently, but the situation is not that positive for the future. At this point in time I think I will retire at the end of this season,” added the Rossonero.
The legendary stopper has made 591 appearances in Serie A so far, winning seven Scudetti with Milan.
He was capped 126 times by the Nazionale over 14 years, an all-time record in Italy, ending his Azzurri career on June 18, 2002, in the 2-1 World Cup defeat against South Korea.
Maldini has not yet decided on what he will do after he hangs up his boots, but he doesn’t seem keen on following his father’s example and becoming a Coach.
“To say the truth, I haven’t thought of what I will do after I stop playing football,” Maldini has stated in the past. “But in any case it’s too early to think about it.”
Hmmm by the way he is playing, it doesn't seem like he is having any trouble.
Only time will tell.
