We know that you are an all around sportsman.
First of all a great footballer and now as a tennis player.
What are the sports you enjoy most watching?
I like sport in general.
In fact when there are the Olympics I watch a bit of everything.
If we're talking about actually taking part in,
then maybe the sports I’m best at, now that I quit football are...
Well boxing, which I trained at for three years.
I have to say that the training I did for boxing was fantastic.
After that I started playing tennis.
Once again the approach is a completely different one,
as you have an 'instrument’ between you and the ball.
But in general I like all team sports, like basketball for example.
What is the latest sporting event that, as a spectator,
you followed with the most interest?
I can say it has been a good World Cup so far,
I was afraid as Italy didn't qualify,
which was such a big disappointment,
but it's a tight tournament, no easy games at all.
In the end it’s been very entertaining edition.
You are the idol of millions of people,
but who are Paolo Maldini’s idols?
We have to go back into the past...
Someone I used to really like was Antonio Cabrini,
who was Italy's young full-back when I watched the World Cup in 1978.
I was 10 at the time.
I also admired [Bjorn] Borg, Edwin Moses, Muhammad Ali.
All great champions.
What are your thoughts about VAR?
How do you think it changed football, even at an emotional level?
In the beginning I didn't like it, I must admit that.
Now I find it's essential,
because there are many decisions that can only be taken with VAR.
Obviously initially there had to be a trial period,
the breaks were maybe too long,
now it's a part of the game almost like it is in tennis.
Fans are now used to those breaks,
and in the end, if we look at how much time is actually wasted by VAR,
it isn’t much more than the time lost by players complaining with the referee.
Do you think it can be further improved?
Maybe by allowing the benches to call for certain plays to be monitored?
It may be, but already as it is now it has been a huge change.
After only one year since its introduction, I would say it’s been a great success.
How do you think Italian football should innovate and try to reinvent itself?
Well we would need a couple of hours to tackle this subject.
It's hard, it’s very hard.
As there are less investments compared to before,
in terms of professional sides.
If we’re talking about our youth sectors,
then we definitely demand less from our youngsters,
compared to many of the other countries.
Also there's very little planning from the FA.
Talking about players,
who do you think could be the future of Italian football?
As a part of this side that is taking shape now under new coach Roberto Mancini.
This is a very particular moment,
a generation has come to an end, they failed the WC qualifier.
So even the youngsters, who are about to start in the national team,
look less competitive than they actually are.
I don't want to mention anyone by name,
but I don’t think Italy is lacking the talent to have a competitive side.
You are very present on social media,
with 1.4M followers on Instagram and over 2M on Facebook.
Which of the two do you prefer and use with great pleasure?
In general I'm not very present.
In the sense that I have many followers, but I don't post that often.
I always thought that my private life should remain private,
then sometimes I want to share something with my fans and I do that.
Between the two, Instagram is definitely the one if follow more.
It started as a joke, when I was on holiday with my nephew.
I said to her: “If I sign up today, by tomorrow I'll have 10k followers".
So it started as a joke, but since then I've become a fan of Instagram.
Nowadays social media has become an integral part of a footballers life.
Do you think that opening up to the fans is a positive thing?
Or do you think the downside could be greater?
Well it's an individual choice.
I don't think someone has to live all his life and career on social media,
there's also real life which is a different thing.
Also social media can cause you problems, if you don't use them properly.
There will be haters who, if you aren't strong enough, can influence your mood.
The name on everyones lips at the moment is Cristiano Ronaldo's.
Do you think that he’s what Juventus has been missing to reach the peak in Europe?
Or is it reductive to only talk about one single player?
It may be reductive somehow,
but if you think about the final between Juventus and Real Madrid,
he scored twice.
If he had been on the opposite side, it could have gone differently.
There isn’t a big difference between the two teams.
Real Madrid has on its side a winning mentality and a team full of great players.
Juventus came really close,
many times you need a bit of luck and Juventus was never very lucky in the finals.
Another astonishing transfer is Gigi Buffon’s one to PSG.
Would you have taken the same decision he had?
Could you have imagined to wear another jersey than Milan’s at the end of your career?
Well they are different stories,
they are different experiences.
It’s always hard to judge a former colleague,
everybody has his own way of thinking.
I don’t see his choice as a wrong one.
He isn’t going to play in China,
where the level of football is honestly inferior than it is at Juventus.
Instead he is joining a club that aims to win the Champions League,
so he could achieve his dream there.
What effect will it have seeing him with a different shirt on than Juventus' one?
Well I mean he had already moved from Parma to Juventus,
so he hasn’t always stayed at the same club.
It will be fun to see him play abroad,
I’m very curious about that.
Did you ever imagine, when you were team-mates,
you would one day see [Gennaro] Gattuso sitting on the Milan bench?
No I didn’t expect it, I really didn't.
Although, it has definitely been a positive surprise.
He has proved to be a well-prepared coach.
He learned a lot as a player,
where he was lucky enough to be coached by many of the greats.
Also he always had a very strong personality.