Daniel Maldini has found a place where he can simply be Daniel

When he was at Milan – the club that had once been home to his grandfather Cesare and his father Paolo – quite a few people wondered whether he was there because of family tradition or because of his genuine footballing ability. The same had happened to his father, but the doubts faded after a few seasons. Paolo, however, was merely Cesare’s son; Daniel, on the other hand, is Cesare’s grandson and Paolo’s son – a double privilege and a double burden. It has become a source of blame.

This is also why Daniel Maldini chose to pursue his football career elsewhere, seeking a present not directly linked to a past he had played no part in creating. Far from that city and that stadium, which never ceased to regard him as a grandson and son of the club – and which perhaps would never have stopped doing so. For his father was too much of a burden and too much of a presence: a captain dearly loved by the Rossoneri faithful – yet at the same time disliked by some sections of the organised supporters – of a Milan side that triumphed everywhere.

Daniel Maldini may not have his father’s talent or charisma, but he possesses the dribbling, ball control and shooting ability of a player who fits right in Serie A – a footballer capable of deciding matches. That’s exactly what happened on Sunday evening against Juventus. And it wasn’t the only time. He’d done the same against Lecce, Atalanta and Udinese.

Of course, sometimes Daniel Maldini gets lost in the solitude of the touchline; at other times, he moves with the smugness and listlessness of someone who believes that a striker should simply be a striker and nothing more.

Of course, people keep telling him that he can only do one thing: receive the ball on the wing, dribble backwards, cut inside and shoot. But that is what he can do, and he does it well. And almost always, whilst saying this, people forget that there have been players who have built a career on doing just that and have even been highly appreciated by the fans. Even by the Milan fans. Without naming names: Suso.

Daniel Maldini has tried to sidestep comparisons with his father. Sometimes he has managed it, but more often than not he has not. He has moved to Cagliari, where people from Lombardy have often found their place in the world (in football and beyond). He is managing it too. The reason for this affinity between Lombards and Sardinia deserves closer investigation. Gigi Riva once explained that it was down to tranquillity. He argued that whilst Lombardy was chaotic in Milan and the industrial towns, it still carried within it a soul yearning for tranquillity. That may have been true then, but perhaps it isn’t now.

Perhaps, however, the Lombard spirit of the Riva and Domenghini families has little in common with that of today. Perhaps Daniel Maldini has simply found a place for himself in the Mediterranean where he can just be Daniel – and nothing more – rather than Paolo’s son and Cesare’s grandson. After all, certain things cannot be erased; one simply has to accept them as a fact of life and, above all, ensure they are accepted without having to explain every time that you don’t play in Serie A by virtue of your lineage or birth certificate. It takes skill and intelligence, stamina and muscle. Sometimes even heart, but not even that is indispensable these days.