Daniel Maldini’s early season has become a defining thread in Cagliari’s rise. Three goals in three successive league matches have helped carry the rossoblù to a position they had reached after five rounds only once before: in 1969-70, the year of Gigi Riva and Manlio Scopigno’s Scudetto.
The forward has provided decisive moments rather than simply numbers. He headed the winner against Lecce, converted the penalty that settled the match at Atalanta and then struck the winning goal away to Udinese.
Quick facts
- Maldini has scored in three consecutive Serie A fixtures for Cagliari.
- His goals decided wins over Lecce, Atalanta and Udinese.
- Cagliari’s start after five matchdays matches a height last seen in the 1969-70 title-winning campaign.
- Tests at Milan’s Niguarda Hospital found no evidence of narcotics use.
- His driving licence was withdrawn after a positive breathalyser result following a road accident in Milan.
The footballing momentum has unfolded alongside an off-field case that Cagliari have handled with clear public support for their player. Maldini was involved in a road accident in Milan last weekend, after the victory in Bergamo, in which five people suffered minor injuries.
Local police ordered checks and withdrew his licence after the breathalyser test. Maldini said he had consumed two gin and tonics. The material from the investigation is due to be passed to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Hospital tests at Niguarda excluded the use of narcotic substances. The findings were also judged incompatible with driving in a state of psychophysical impairment linked to drugs.
Before the official hospital report was available, Maldini and Cagliari arranged further tests at a Cagliari medical centre accredited by the regional health service. Screening for amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, methadone, methamphetamines, ecstasy, opiates and buprenorphine returned negative results, which the player later published on social media.
His lawyer, Danilo Buongiorno, moved to protect Maldini’s reputation amid speculation around the incident. Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini also rejected suggestions that the player had taken drugs, arguing that the club’s tests were all negative and that Maldini had maintained he had not used any such substance.
Giulini said the breathalyser reading was not particularly high, while stressing that it was still not a level at which anyone should drive. The president has since repeated the wider message: after going out for a drink, it is better to be accompanied or take a taxi.
For Cagliari, the episode does not alter the immediate sporting picture. Maldini remains central to a team whose opening run has recalled one of the most exceptional starts in the club’s history, even if the season is still only beginning to show its shape.
