Paolo Maldini Quotes

"It is very hard to find a good defender who is strong and good with the ball. Very hard."

"I have a great relationship with the fans. They love me; they have always shown that."

"Baggio is a unique player. It should not surprise you that he gets the most press. But you must remember that it takes a full team to win."

"Sometimes when you have difficulties qualifying, you can still go and play a good World Cup."

"I will not play a farewell game with the national team. I would like to thank the federation for expressing an interest. But I prefer to leave football with an official match because I am not a fan of farewell games."

"San Siro is a historic stadium. It's nice, but it doesn't offer comfort."

"Too much tension can do bad things to you."

"Even though I am not going to coach in the future, if I had to pass on a recommendation, it would be to base your game on having a strong defence."

"You simply can't judge a team's football from the country it comes from."

"My father used to give me a lot of advice."

"I had my father on the Under-21 team and during the World Cup in France in 1998 - and also in AC Milan for four months. So it was a weird experience, because having your father as a coach is pretty weird, and I was the captain. But he was great."

"You cannot choose your opponents."

"Bringing in innovation and youth is not a bad thing: it is a courageous choice."

"Sergio Ramos has everything to become the best defender in the world, if he is not already."

"Once Liverpool go ahead, they are dangerous because it becomes hard to find space to break them down, especially if you are not playing all that brilliantly."

"San Siro is a tricky stadium. If you have the right personality, it helps you. But if you don't have the right personality, it can be very hard to play in San Siro."

"I like to play aggressive."

"Milan has no reservations signing veteran players and has always taken into account the image and communication factors."

"A rookie coach must be supported by a very strong structure and not get burned."

"I love sport, and I play to keep myself fine in the mind, because it helps there."

"Ahead of a semi-final, there is always the same buzz. You know you are very close to reaching the final, but there is no way you can relax because then you will be punished."

"If you only sign the players of one FIFA agent, sometimes you can make the deal, sometimes you can't."

"My teammate Franco Baresi was a real captain. He was an example for everyone. Not a big talker. He never talked. But on the field or in training, he was No. 1."

"My father instilled in me the need to behave correctly on and off the pitch."

"Milan is not just a team for me. It is part of my life."

"It's funny that as soon as I retired from international football, Italy won the World Cup."

"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a football player. So I achieved my dream."

"In the Champions League, you can focus on a single game and play in exactly the style you need."

"I was lucky enough to play against Maradona. He and Ronaldo, when he was at Inter Milan - they were my toughest opponents."

"To compete with the great teams in Europe, you have to invest money. There is no other way to reach that kind of level."