As everything with Paolo Maldini, it happened really fast. It was during an AC Milan Serie A fixture in the 90s’, and the opponent was about to fire a shot near the edge of the box. Few yards across, and in no position to anticipate or bring a physical challenge, any defender worth their salt would have barreled their body as vertically as humanely possible in an attempt to block the shot and hope for the best.
However, this is not any defender we are talking about. This is Paolo Maldini: the greatest of all time.
Most videos featuring Maldini show a dizzying number of sliding tackles, overwhelming speed, and a technique typically reserved for the most gifted playmakers. His intensity, physicality, and ability to read patterns and anticipate opponents made it look like Maldini was a 2020s footballer who time traveled to a past where the game was played at a much slower motion. He was in a league of his own.
The sequence at play was neither a tackle nor a trademark cavalcade on the left flank. It was a simple block that happened in the most unexpected of ways. It is one of the those moves that causes a glitch in the Matrix because it is not a pattern the brain expects. It is what makes certain players so special.
This is how it unfolded (as engraved in my memory because I was not able to find the video):
On the edge of the penalty area, the opponent faints a shot to the right to draw Maldini out in that direction. Maldini obliges by shifting his body while sticking his left foot out to block the incoming shot (as he was opposite the opponent, he had to use his left foot to counter a shot to the right post). It was a ruse: the opponent switches direction and fires a shot to the opposite side. With a fraction of a second to react, Maldini’s body is completely out of balance and out of position, with no time to switch to the opposite side. At least, there is no way he could have switched to the opposite side in a manner our brains expect: while facing his opponent.
Maldini figured out another way: like a ballet dancer, Maldini used his right foot as an anchor to pirouette around, doing so while turning his back to his opponent. That same left foot that stuck out to the left earlier is now suddenly sticking out to the right, effectively blocking the shot. It is the shortest, quickest, most elegant, and yet most unexpected of moves you’d ever see in Football.
It is the reason why Paolo Maldini was considered "the one".
