I'm always very vocal about my love of soccer and my love of the Chicago soccer teams, both the Fire and the Red Stars. You might expect me to talk about some obscure player from one of those teams or some random women's player, but a role model is someone you look up to as a kid and I was kind of a basic kid.
Like any kid, I always liked strikers and wanted to be a goalscorer. Then one day that changed. I was 6 years old in July of 2005. The Chicago Fire were scheduled to have a friendly against AC Milan at Soldier Field. Now, I was already familiar with Milan since they were one of my dad's European teams and they were the first team to show up when you selected "Serie A" in FIFA. I already thought Andriy Shevchenko and Hernan Crespo were the best from playing FIFA 02, 03, and 05. So before the game was set to be played, the Fire set up an open training session for Milan so that fans could come see the best team in all of Europe (this was 2005, guys, they were objectively the best).
That was the plan, but there was a massive thunderstorm that rained out the practice. Instead of practicing, they turned it into an impromptu signing session, where the players just walked over to the fans that were there and hung out with the fans. My dad insisted on having me bring something to b signed, so we brought my school indoor soccer jersey. It was signed by pretty much the whole team and my dad even had a small conversation with Gennaro Gattuso. I remember very little of this, I really only remember the rain hitting the windshield that night as we drove up to Soldier Field.
When I got home, my dad checked my jersey and pointed out that Maldini had signed right underneath my #3 (I'm the third of my name, so I wear #3). That's when I decided to actually look into him and just got really into the way he played. I discovered the quiet dignity of defense from him and demanded to grow my hair out like him (although I went to a Catholic school, so this was an issue). I would always love playing defense because it would mean that I could be like Maldini. Turns out I'm not a good defender and I'm a much better Inzaghi-type poacher, but still.
As I've gotten older, learning more about Maldini and his influence, I've grown to appreciate him more and more. For one: Once I stopped being a front-running piece of shit child, I realized that I really respected him for sticking to a single club his entire 25-year career, his hometown club. I've learned about his ability to lead his club and while I personally prefer a much more rough and dirty style of defending, I really do admire his very technical approach to defending that isn't seen very often in the game.
In a smaller detail that I only learned about recently, he had a contentious relationship with the fans later on after the ultras essentially attacked the team for losing to Liverpool in the 2005 Champions' League Final. He called them out for being assholes and they resented him for it. For his final game, Maldini left the pitch while being booed by the Milan support while they held up a banner saying that he was never the real captain of the club. He showed them the finger and said later that he was "...proud to be nothing like them."
This whole thing just reminded me so much about why I appreciate him. He was never spoken about for the wrong reasons and he never made excuses for a fanbase that would tend to be a bit... extra. He would always play the game the right way and conduct himself in the best way possible. I think he's someone that every athlete should strive to be.
Like any kid, I always liked strikers and wanted to be a goalscorer. Then one day that changed. I was 6 years old in July of 2005. The Chicago Fire were scheduled to have a friendly against AC Milan at Soldier Field. Now, I was already familiar with Milan since they were one of my dad's European teams and they were the first team to show up when you selected "Serie A" in FIFA. I already thought Andriy Shevchenko and Hernan Crespo were the best from playing FIFA 02, 03, and 05. So before the game was set to be played, the Fire set up an open training session for Milan so that fans could come see the best team in all of Europe (this was 2005, guys, they were objectively the best).
That was the plan, but there was a massive thunderstorm that rained out the practice. Instead of practicing, they turned it into an impromptu signing session, where the players just walked over to the fans that were there and hung out with the fans. My dad insisted on having me bring something to b signed, so we brought my school indoor soccer jersey. It was signed by pretty much the whole team and my dad even had a small conversation with Gennaro Gattuso. I remember very little of this, I really only remember the rain hitting the windshield that night as we drove up to Soldier Field.
When I got home, my dad checked my jersey and pointed out that Maldini had signed right underneath my #3 (I'm the third of my name, so I wear #3). That's when I decided to actually look into him and just got really into the way he played. I discovered the quiet dignity of defense from him and demanded to grow my hair out like him (although I went to a Catholic school, so this was an issue). I would always love playing defense because it would mean that I could be like Maldini. Turns out I'm not a good defender and I'm a much better Inzaghi-type poacher, but still.
As I've gotten older, learning more about Maldini and his influence, I've grown to appreciate him more and more. For one: Once I stopped being a front-running piece of shit child, I realized that I really respected him for sticking to a single club his entire 25-year career, his hometown club. I've learned about his ability to lead his club and while I personally prefer a much more rough and dirty style of defending, I really do admire his very technical approach to defending that isn't seen very often in the game.
In a smaller detail that I only learned about recently, he had a contentious relationship with the fans later on after the ultras essentially attacked the team for losing to Liverpool in the 2005 Champions' League Final. He called them out for being assholes and they resented him for it. For his final game, Maldini left the pitch while being booed by the Milan support while they held up a banner saying that he was never the real captain of the club. He showed them the finger and said later that he was "...proud to be nothing like them."
This whole thing just reminded me so much about why I appreciate him. He was never spoken about for the wrong reasons and he never made excuses for a fanbase that would tend to be a bit... extra. He would always play the game the right way and conduct himself in the best way possible. I think he's someone that every athlete should strive to be.
[OPTION]S32: CAR: 0 \ RUS: 0 \ RUT: 0 \ CAT: 35 \ REC: 582 \ RET: 3
[OPTION]S33: CAR: 395 \ RUS: 1756 \ RUT: 21 \ CAT: 14 \ REC: 124 \ RET: 1
[OPTION]S34: CAR: 196 \ RUS: 831 \ RUT: 6 \ CAT: 35 \ REC: 582 \ RET: 3
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S31: DNQ
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S31: DNQ
[OPTION]S32: CAR: 0 \ RUS: 0 \ RUT: 0 \ CAT: 7 \ REC: 67 \ RET: 0
[OPTION]S33: CAR: 47 \ RUS: 147 \ RUT: 0 \ CAT: 2 \ REC: 7 \ RET: 0
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION]S33: CAR: 47 \ RUS: 147 \ RUT: 0 \ CAT: 2 \ REC: 7 \ RET: 0
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION]S33 DSFL RBOTY
[OPTION]S33 DSFL MVP
[OPTION]Height: 6'2"
[OPTION]Weight: 195 lbs
[OPTION]Birthplace: Yakushima, Japan
[OPTION]Number: 23
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S22: CAR: 0 \ RUS: 0 \ RUT: 0 \ CAT: 0 \ REC: 0 \ RET: 0 \ KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S23: CAR: 23 \ RUS: 89 \ RUT: 2 \ CAT: 14 \ REC: 112 \ RET: 0 \ KR: 569 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S22: CAR: 0 \ RUS: 0 \ RUT: 0 \ CAT: 0 \ REC: 0 \ RET: 0 \ KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S23: DNQ
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S24: CAR: 192 \ RUS: 744 \ RUT: 6 \ CAT: 7 \ REC: 59 \ RET: 0 \ KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S25: CAR: 232 \ RUS: 860 \ RUT: 4 \ CAT: 19 \ REC: 140 \ RET: 2 \ KR: 977 \ PR: 44 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S26: CAR: 54 \ RUS: 213 \ RUT: 3 \ CAT: 72 \ REC: 818 \ RET: 8 \ KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S27: CAR: 179 \ RUS: 633 \ RUT: 4 \ CAT: 38 \ REC: 329 \ RET: 2 \ KR: 100 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S24: DNQ
[OPTION]S25: DNQ
[OPTION]S26: DNQ
[OPTION]S27: DNQ
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION]Height: 6'1"
[OPTION]Weight: 180 lbs
[OPTION]Birthplace: Chicago, IL
[OPTION]Number: 13
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S13: Comp: 213 // Yards: 2306 // Comp%: 55 // TD: 10 // INT: 14 // Rating: 66.3
[OPTION]S14: Comp: 231 // Yards: 2100 // Comp%: 58.5 // TD: 11 // INT: 10 // Rating: 71.7
[OPTION]S15: Comp: 180 // Yards: 1595 // Comp%: 54.9 // TD: 7 // INT: 14 // Rating: 57.4
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S13: Comp: 45 // Yards: 485 // Comp%: 57.7% // TD: 3 // INT: 2
[OPTION]S14: DNQ
[OPTION]S15: Comp: 11 // Yards: 130 // Comp%: 55% // TD: 1 // INT: 1
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S16: Comp: 216 // Yards: 3106 // Comp%: 55.7% // TD: 18 // INT: 7 // Rating: 89.8
[OPTION]S17: Comp: 202 // Yards: 2267 // Comp%: 62.2% // TD: 18 // INT: 8 // Rating: 94
[OPTION]S18: Comp: 302 // Yards: 3652 // Comp%: 57% // TD: 18 // INT: 16 // Rating: 77
[OPTION]S19: Comp: 326 // Yards: 3716 // Comp%: 56.4% // TD: 11 // INT: 15 // Rating: 71.4
[OPTION]S20: Comp: 347 // Yards: 4275 // Comp%: 56.5% // TD: 28 // INT: 12 // Rating: 85.2
[OPTION]S21: Comp: 267 // Yards: 3242 // Comp%: 57.5% // TD: 24 // INT: 8 // Rating: 89.2
[OPTION]S22: Comp: 236 // Yards: 2864 // Comp%: 53% // TD: 8 // INT: 11 // Rating: 68.8
[OPTION]Career: Comp: 1896 // Yards: 23,122 // Comp%: 56.9% // TD: 125 // INT: 77
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S16: Comp: 21 // Yards: 231 // Comp%: 65.6% // TD: 3 // INT: 3 // Rating: 79
[OPTION]S17: Comp: 18 // Yards: 186 // Comp%: 48.6% // TD: 0 // INT: 1 // Rating: 52.3
[OPTION]S18: DNQ
[OPTION]S19: DNQ
[OPTION]S20: DNQ
[OPTION]S21: DNQ
[OPTION]S22: Comp: 16 // Yards: 184 // Comp%: 57.1% // TD: 1 // INT: 1 // Rating: 74.1
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION]
[OPTION]Height: 5'9"
[OPTION]Weight: 185 lbs
[OPTION]Birthplace: Brookfield, IL
[OPTION]Number: 23
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S4: Tackles: 50 \ PDs: 15 \ INTs: 4 \ DTDs: 1 \ KR: 493 \ PR: 418 \ RetTD: 1
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S4: DNQ
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S5: Tackles: 60 \ Sacks: 2 \ PDs: 4 \ INTs: 1 \ DTDs: 0 \ KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S6: Tackles: 50 \ Sacks: 6 \ PDs: 5 \ INTs: 0 \ DTDs: 0 \ KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S7: Tackles: 92 \ Sacks: 0 \ PDs: 4 \ INTs: 2 \ DTDs: 0 \ Catches: 16 \ RecY: 171 \ RecTD: 3
[OPTION]S8: Catches: 71 \ RecY: 1239 \ RecTD: 6 \ YPC: 17.5 // KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S9: Catches: 70 \ RecY: 1168 \ RecTD: 3 \ YPC: 17.0 // KR: 711 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S10: Catches: 68 \ RecY: 1348 \ RecTD: 9 \ YPC: 19.8 // KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S11: Catches: 71 \ RecY: 1003 \ RecTD: 5 \ YPC: 14.1 // KR: 956 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S12: Catches: 47 \ RecY: 685 \ RecTD: 8 \ YPC: 14.6 // KR: 315 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S13: Catches: 53 \ RecY: 805 \ RecTD: 8 \ YPC: 15.2 // KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]Career (Defense): Tackles: 202 \ Sacks: 8 \ PDs: 13 \ INTs: 3 \ DTDs: 0
[OPTION]Career (Offense): Catches: 396 \ RecY: 6419 \ RecTD: 50
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S5: Tackles: 9 \ Sacks: 0 \ PDs: 0 \ INTs: 0 \ DTDs: 0 \ KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S6: Tackles: 8 \ Sacks: 1 \ PDs: 0 \ INTs: 0 \ DTDs: 0 \ KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S7: Tackles: 8 \ Sacks: 0 \ PDs: 0 \ INTs: 0 \ DTDs: 0 \ Catches: 2 \ RecY: 18 \ RecTD: 0
[OPTION]S8: Catches: 3 \ RecY: 40 \ RecTD: 0 \ YPC: 13.3 // KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S9: Catches: 3 \ RecY: 45 \ RecTD: 0 \ YPC: 15 // KR: 43 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S10: DNQ
[OPTION]S11: Catches: 4 \ RecY: 29 \ RecTD: 1 \ YPC: 7.2 // KR: 54 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S12: Catches: 11 \ RecY: 208 \ RecTD: 1 \ YPC: 18.9 // KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]S13: Catches: 6 \ RecY: 55 \ RecTD: 0 \ YPC: 9.2 // KR: 0 \ PR: 0 \ RetTD: 0
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION]S5: Ultimus Trophy Winners
[OPTION]S6: Ultimus Trophy Winners
[OPTION]S12: Ultimus Trophy Winners
[OPTION]S13: Ultimus Trophy Winners
[OPTION]Height: 6'4"
[OPTION]Weight: 260 lbs
[OPTION]Birthplace: Chicago, IL
[OPTION]Number: 3
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S1: CAR: 207 \ RUS: 995 \ RUT: 4 \ CAT: 19 \ REC: 148 \ RET: 1
[OPTION]S2: CAR: 191 \ RUS: 640 \ RUT: 2 \ CAT: 23 \ REC: 142 \ RET: 3
[OPTION]S3: CAR: 123 \ RUS: 359 \ RUT: 5 \ CAT: 46 \ REC: 387 \ RET: 0
[OPTION]S4: CAR: 123 \ RUS: 357 \ RUT: 6 \ CAT: 69 \ REC: 533 \ RET: 2
[OPTION]Career: CAR: 664 \ RUS: 2351 \ RUT: 17 \ CAT: 157 \ REC: 1210 \ RET: 6
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S1: CAR: 15 \ RUS: 59 \ RUT: 0 \ CAT: 2 \ REC: 11 \ RET: 0
[OPTION]S2: CAR: 13 \ RUS: 32 \ RUT: 0 \ CAT: 0 \ REC: 0 \ RET: 0
[OPTION]S3: CAR: 0 \ RUS: 0 \ RUT: 0 \ CAT: 6 \ REC: 19 \ RET: 0
[OPTION]S4: CAR: 6 \ RUS: 16 \ RUT: 0 \ CAT: 4 \ REC: 17 \ RET: 0
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION]S4: Ultimus Trophy Winners
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Record:
[OPTION]NSFL S1: OC Otters: 9-5-0
[OPTION]NSFL S2: OC Otters: 8-6-0
[OPTION]EFL S1: Notre Dame University: 0-14-0
[OPTION]NSFL S3: Chicago Blues: 10-4-0
[OPTION]NSFL S4: Chicago Blues: 5-9-0
[OPTION]NSFL S5: Chicago Coyotes: 3-7-0
[OPTION]PBE S7: Milwaukee Swans: 50-50 (Lost World Series 2-3)
[OPTION]NSFL S17: Chicago Butchers: 8-5-0
[OPTION]NSFL S18: Chicago Butchers: 5-8-0
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION]NSFL S1: Finished 2nd in league (2nd in conference)
[OPTION]NSFL S1: Solis Trophy Runners-Up
[OPTION]NSFL S1: GMs of the Year Runners-Up
[OPTION]NSFL S2: Founded DSFL Franchise, Chicago Blues
[OPTION]EFL S1: Joined Notre Dame University as Athletic Director
[OPTION]NSFL S2: Finished 3rd in league (2nd in conference)
[OPTION]NSFL S2: Solis Trophy Runners-Up
[OPTION]EFL S1: Resigned from Athletic Director position with Notre Dame
[OPTION]NSFL S3: Finished 1st in league (1st in conference)
[OPTION]NSFL S3: Noble Trophy Semifinals Runners-Up
[OPTION]NSFL S4: Finished 5th in league (3rd in conference)
[OPTION]NSFL S5: Joined DSFL Franchise, Kansas City Coyotes
[OPTION]NSFL S5: Moved DSFL Franchise, Kansas City Coyotes from Kansas City to Chicago, creating the Chicago Coyotes
[OPTION]NSFL S5: Retired from Leadership Positions in the NSFL
[OPTION]PBE S7: Co-Founded MiPBE Franchise Milwaukee Swans
[OPTION]PBE S7: Finished Runners-up in MiPBE World Series
[OPTION]PBE S8: Resigned from MiPBE team Milwaukee Swans before the start of the season
[OPTION]NSFL S17: Joined NSFL Franchise, Chicago Butchers
[OPTION]NSFL S19: Resigned from NSFL team Chicago Butchers before the start of the season
[OPTION]NSFL S21: Appointed Interim GM of Chicago Butchers
[OPTION]NSFL S21: Staged a violent military coup to gain control of Chicago Butchers
[OPTION]NSFL S21: Retired from all Leadership Positions
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Quote:"There is no such thing as a person who can call themselves truly not lonely. There are only those who choose to hide it."
-Chizuru Ichinose