Classify Italian football legends Cesare and Paolo Maldini

[TheBlondeSalad]

"Cesare Maldini je v bistvu Slovenec, rojen v družini Maldič, kasneje italijalizirano Maldini"

"Cesare Maldini was born in Trieste, Venezia Giulia, Italy. His parents were working class people of Slovene origin whose surname Maldič was Italianised to Maldini in 1931. He grew up in the predominantly Slovene-speaking working class suburb of Servola (Slovene: Škedenj) and has kept a typical Triestine accent".

http://cdn.worldheritage.org/articles/Cesare_Maldini

PS: the man in the third pic is Gianni Rivera.

[Tacitus]

PS: the man in the third pic is Gianni Rivera.

Thanks. Fixed.

Blame Google btw; he popped up in the search results under Maldini's name.

[Alenka]

"Cesare Maldini je v bistvu Slovenec, rojen v družini Maldič, kasneje italijalizirano Maldini"

"Cesare Maldini was born in Trieste, Venezia Giulia, Italy. His parents were working class people of Slovene origin whose surname Maldič was Italianised to Maldini in 1931. He grew up in the predominantly Slovene-speaking working class suburb of Servola (Slovene: Škedenj) and has kept a typical Triestine accent".

Interesting... but there's only 7 Maldinis in Friuli and hundreds in Emilia. I looked it up and currently the surname Maldič doesn't exist in Slovenia either, so the only explanation I can think of is that perhaps Maldič was a not-very-numerous Slovene surname present in Trieste at the time, and all of it's bearers had it Italianised (forcefully by the regime?) into the similar-sounding already-existing Emilian last name Maldini? That would be possible I guess...
Btw, any info on heritage of Paolo's mother?

[Lets]

Paolo Maldini looks more Spanish than Italian

[Guapo]

Interesting... but there's only 7 Maldinis in Friuli and hundreds in Emilia. I looked it up and currently the surname Maldič doesn't exist in Slovenia either, so the only explanation I can think of is that perhaps Maldič was a not very numerous Slovene surname present in Trieste at the time, and eventually all of it's bearers had it Italianised (forcefully by the regime?) into the similar-sounding already-existing Emilian last name Maldini? That would be possible I guess...
Btw, any info on heritage of Paolo's mother?

It's possible they were slavicized then italianized again.

[safinator]

There's no mention of them being slovene except on the wikipedia page in Slovene, and even there i don't see a source so it might as well be a made up story.

[Instinct]

North Pontid+some Nordic

Med+North Pontid

[Alenka]

There's no mention of them being slovene except on the wikipedia page in Slovene, and even there i don't see a source so it might as well be a made up story.

It's on English Wikipedia (he has no article on the Slovene one), but yes there's no source so you're right it could be made up.

[cocoNN]

Interesting... but there's only 7 Maldinis in Friuli and hundreds in Emilia. I looked it up and currently the surname Maldič doesn't exist in Slovenia either, so the only explanation I can think of is that perhaps Maldič was a not-very-numerous Slovene surname present in Trieste at the time, and all of it's bearers had it Italianised (forcefully by the regime?) into the similar-sounding already-existing Emilian last name Maldini? That would be possible I guess...
Btw, any info on heritage of Paolo's mother?

Maybe his Slovenian surname was rare before, so it is now non-existent. I know a lot of Slovenian surnames that are rare and present only in one region.

[TheBlondeSalad]

Interesting... but there's only 7 Maldinis in Friuli and hundreds in Emilia. I looked it up and currently the surname Maldič doesn't exist in Slovenia either, so the only explanation I can think of is that perhaps Maldič was a not-very-numerous Slovene surname present in Trieste at the time, and all of it's bearers had it Italianised (forcefully by the regime?) into the similar-sounding already-existing Emilian last name Maldini? That would be possible I guess...
Btw, any info on heritage of Paolo's mother?

His mother's name is Marisa Mazzucchelli, which is a surname most widespread in Lombardy.