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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The chances of Paolo Maldini taking the position of technical director of the Italian national football team are minimal, despite the desire expressed by the new president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Giovanni Malago.
According to the latest information, one of the greatest figures in the history of Italian football has rejected this proposal from the head of the Federation, for reasons that are still unknown.
A relationship that ended in 2002
Paolo Maldini's career with the Italian national team as a footballer ended on June 18, 2002, when Italy was eliminated from the World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. Although he continued his career with Milan until 2009, attempts to bring him back to the national team were unsuccessful.
Former coach Marcello Lippi tried to convince him to join the team on the eve of the 2006 World Cup, but Maldini refused. He argued that it was not right to replace a player who had contributed throughout the qualifying campaign. Paradoxically, Italy won the World Cup in 2006, only a short time after Maldini had retired from the international scene.
A family history closely linked to the "Axurrës"
The Maldini family's relationship with the Italian national team has deep roots. It began on January 6, 1960 with Cesare Maldini, one of the most respected names in Italian football.
When Paolo Maldini was born in 1968, the family already had a strong connection to the blue jersey. In 1986, Cesare Maldini, as coach of the Italy U-21 team, gave his son his debut. Two years later, Azelio Vicini called him up to the senior national team.
From that moment on, Paolo Maldini became one of the pillars of the national team for more than a decade, being the protagonist in major tournaments such as the "Italia '90" World Cup, the 1994 World Cup in the USA and the 1996 European Championship.
Although his name continues to be associated with the Italian national team, recent developments show that Maldini's return to a leadership role with the "Azzurri" remains, at least for the moment, an impossible scenario.
La Nazionale italiana non può sempre deludere. Non sono i più belli, i momenti di adesso. Quindi dovrà accettare un incarico così lusinghiero.