In Cagliari, a name woven deeply into Italian football found its way back onto the Juventus scoresheet. Daniel Maldini struck for Cagliari against the Turin side on 11 October 2026, becoming the first member of his family to score against Juventus since his father Paolo did so 35 years earlier.
The goal gave Cagliari a 1-0 lead and carried an unusual weight beyond the match itself. Daniel, the son of Paolo Maldini and grandson of Cesare Maldini, restored the family surname to one of Italian football’s most enduring fixtures.
A Cagliari move ends with Maldini’s finish
Cagliari’s opening goal came from a flowing attacking sequence involving Daniel Maldini and Adam Obert. Maldini found room to shape for a shot, but his initial effort was stopped by the Juventus defence.
The loose ball then reached Paul Mendy, who held it up with his back to goal before laying it into Maldini’s path. Arriving at pace, the Cagliari forward took the opportunity and beat Guglielmo Vicario to put the home side ahead.
It was a goal created through quick exchanges and persistence, with the deflection from Maldini’s first attempt helping to keep the move alive. For the player, however, the finish also carried the significance of a family landmark.
From Paolo’s Milan goal to Daniel’s Cagliari moment
The previous Maldini goal against Juventus had come on 5 May 1991, when Paolo Maldini scored for Milan in a heavy victory over the Bianconeri.
No Maldini had found the net against Juventus in the intervening years. Daniel’s strike therefore closed a 35-year gap, linking three generations of a family whose influence has stretched through Italy as players, captains and coaches.
Cesare Maldini made his own lasting mark both on the pitch and in management, while Paolo became the family’s most recent scorer against Juventus before Daniel’s intervention in Cagliari. The latest goal gives the third generation another place in the long record of Italian football’s most recognisable surname.
