Marcel Desailly, the Frenchman who in the mid-1990s shared a pitch for Milan with Paolo Maldini, came up with nice phrase for his colleague, then in his late 20s.
"The face of angel, and the physique of a model," said Desailly.
The remarkable thing about Maldini is that, in his 41st year, it is still true.
Tonight at the San Siro, fans of Milan say goodbye to Maldini and this farewell has more symptoms of permanence than his earlier commitments to finally retire on a remarkable career.
The longevity of his professional life and high standards is stunning: Maldini made his league debut for Milan on the day Ronald Reagan was sworn in for his second term as US president. That's how long ago it was: 1985, Maldini aged 16.
He is Italy's most capped player, a rarity in that his entire career has been spent at only one club. He was born to it, the son of a Milan footballer, Cesare Maldini.
But Maldini's timing was good. Under Silvio Berlusconi's patronage and the coaching of Arrigo Sacchi, the finest club team of the past 20 years was built, their momentum maintained by Fabio Capello. Between 1989 and 1995, Milan appeared in five European Cup finals. Between 2003 and 2007, there would be three more.
There will be tears today at Milan against Roma, some shed by fans not even born when a good-looking boy came on as substitute left-back at Udinese nearly quarter of a century ago. The man with the looks of an angel and the body of a model will be moist-eyed, too. "I'm feeling some strong emotions," said Maldini.
Football will not see his like again.
ihawkey@thenational.ae
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UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
