The 18-year-old attacking
midfielder, who recently made his
Serie A debut as a sub against
Verona, is the third generation of
the Maldini dynasty to wear the
colours of the Rossoneri, following
in the footsteps of grandfather
Cesare – who skippered the club
to the European Champions Cup
title in 1963 – and father Paolo,
an outstanding servant of the club
for two-and-a-half decades.
Unlike his illustrious forebears,
both of whom were defenders, he
is a creative type, brimming over
with craft, vision and anticipation.
Former Milan youth-section
chief Filippo Galli – who is an
ex-team-mate of Paolo Maldini- praises Daniel for his innate feel
for the game and his appreciation
of time and space around him.
Daniel MALDINI
(MILAN)
RIVALDINHO
(VIITORUL)As the striker admits, it is “more
a burden than a help” to be the
offspring of Brazil’s Rivaldo and
comparisons with his father are,
inevitably, unfavourable.
For much of his career the
24-year-old has struggled for
acceptance on his own terms,
making next to no impact at
Boavista in Portugal, LevskiSofia and leading Brazilian
side Internacional. Even when
Internacional were sensationally
relegated to the second tier in
2016 they could still not find a
place for him.
Fortunately for the son and heir,
a mid-term move last season to
Romanian top-flight side Viitorul
has worked out splendidly.Ianis HAGI
(RANGERS)Giovanni REYNA
(BORUSSIA DORTMUND)Bearing in mind the achievements
of his father Claudio – 112 caps
for the USA, national-team
captaincy, his participation
in three World Cup finals and
starring roles for clubs in the
Bundesliga and Premier League- “Gio” has the toughest of acts
to follow.
Yet the signs so far for the
17-year-old attacking midfielder
all look good and just eight
months after joining Dortmund
from New York City FC he is
already making a name for
himself on the German and
European circuit, scoring in the
DFB Cup against Werder Bremen
and appearing as a sub in a 2-1
victory over Paris Saint-Germain
in the Champions League.
While his lot, for now, is first XI
cameos, he has way too much
talent to remain a part-timer, with
his pace, ball skills, eye for a pass
and sniper-like marksmanship.
After struggling to make his
mark in Belgium with Genk, the
playmaker son of Romanian great
Gheorghe Hagi has finally started
to fulfil his potential following a
loan move to Rangers in January.
Two goals
in his side’s
3-2 victory
over Braga
saw the
Scottish club
progress to
the last 16 of
the Europa
League and
put teams all
over Europe
on alert –
particularly
back in Italy,
where he had
a torrid time
with Fiorentina
four seasons
ago.3
4
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