QUOTE (Protagonist @ Nov 29 2010, 12:13 PM)
On a side note, Maldini is 2nd to none. Stating that Nesta is more important for the sake of argument is fine by me, but to state it as a fact is ludicrous. With everything taken into account, Maldini simply presented a commanding presence. I am not being biased by stating that, but the confidence that the team had when Maldini was on the pitch was simple extraordinary.
This. A 1000 times over!
This needs to be posted twice. Or thrice!
Nesta and Maldini is my favorite defensive pairing of all time, but Nesta on his best day can't touch Maldini on his worst. They are both immensely gifted, absolute gentlemen, and head and shoulders above the rest, but Paolo had that special aura about him that Nesta lacked. In any case, think of them as Superman (Maldini) and Batman (Nesta): 2nd to none, but Maldini was blessed with that special glow that can't be put in words. Call it leadership, class, sportsmanship a mixture of it all, anything.
I read on an English website (BBC or Guardian was it), that Maldini was the only player alive that absolutely made a particular number and position his own. Meaning any team and any World XI, Paolo was destined for #3 and destined for LCB (or LB, if you will).
That for me is a praise as good as any for once in a lifetime player. When you have people on a Juve forum (with Del Piero avatars) praising Maldini, and even the inter chaps admitting his sheer class, then you are talking about someone.
Even the English press and general fans have mountains of respects for him and him alone in the Italian league (just like they respect the real Ronaldo), don't believe me just visit a few UK sites. But like I said, if I was Maldini and if I had to select a defender to put a clean-sheet if my life depended on it, I'd choose Nesta without thinking for a second.
Point is that Paolo was giving in the level of performance at 40 that Nesta is giving now. An age difference of five or six vital years. He was instrumental in 2003 CL win, the 2005 final appearance and the 2007 win (got the best defender award there). To be fair to Nesta he has been really unlucky with injuries and frankly had to spend extended periods on complete sidelines.
But the thing that nails it for me is how classy Paolo when tackling, always taking care not to injure the opponent player. Nesta had the tendency to move in with a clumsy challenge and get both parties into trouble (more so in his early years, he has gotten a hold of it now a days). When you have guys like R99 and Zidane saying that they preferred coming from the right side of the pitch because Maldini was prowling on the left says all there is to say. And this without taking into account his elegance, personality, and mannerisms off the field.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkM7fEMADw0 This was the first video I ever watched on Youtube, I clearly remember. What a brilliant compilation! Heck, my first post here in Milanfan was in Maldini's thread. When we won the 2007 CL, we had both a face (Kaka) and the icon of the club (Maldin), both complete elegance and class, now we have lost both. Though we had brief new faces (R80 last season, and Ibra now), both are literally sandbags and have the charisma of a carrot in front of the King of Kings, the God of Football: Paolo Maldini. The soul of the club, one we seemed to have lost and with it fallen of grace. Heck, we are now stealing minutes off the clock, a small-club mentality that I have never in my life seen Milan do.
PS. I still maintain Paolo was the player of the last decade as well. He played till 2009, and I don't have the stats, but most probably featured a bit more than Nesta. So our captain first, Kaka, second, Sheva third, Nesta fourth, ad Dida fifth.
The pillars of our success. The midfield engines (Rui, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Ambro) come next along with the guys on the left and right flanks (Cafu, anyone?).
PPS. You may get a feeling from my post that Nesta is sort of way behind Maldini, he is not. It's just that we are talking about players of such high caliber that there is an immense void below them. As I said above, it's Paolo, Nesta and then the other mortals.
PPPS. Did I say, brilliant post, Protagonist?
Great job!
Last week I was busy as a snowball in hell. 
