[Football] Diary of the Italian Crown Prince's Coming of Age

Rafael Maldini needs no introduction. Just hearing his surname tells you he must belong to Italy, to AC Milan. In 2018, when Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup, Rafael was nine. He vaguely remembers hearing plenty of sighs. In 2022, Italy missed the World Cup again. Outside the training ground, grieving fans clasped the hand of Milan’s young prince: “With penalty-taking this awful, why not let our little Rafael take them?” Rafael: “But, sister, I’m only thirteen.” After Italy lost 0–3 to Norway in the first match of the 2025 European qualifiers, their chances of qualifying were once again hanging by a thread, and the fans were nearly frantic. The most valuable striker on the team is in Saudi Arabia. Are you serious? After a change of manager, Rafael was called up for the September qualifiers, and the public debate exploded. One side insisted, “Of course Maldini can save Italy!” The other fired back, “He’s played fewer than ten Serie A matches at sixteen, and he’s already on the national team? His application must have included ‘My Great Italian Left-Footed Father.’” The skeptics even had a photo of Rafael as a little kid sitting on the manager’s head as proof! But public opinion didn’t matter. New manager Gennaro Gattuso set off on the World Cup qualifying campaign with his beloved eldest son Sandro Tonali and his little nephew Rafael. Written because Italy made me faint with frustration. I’m writing a short story for my own enjoyment. Since he can’t make it in on merit, I’m going to start making things up for him. Teacher, I just want our Gattuso, Tonali, and Gabbia to get to play in the World Cup! (pounds the ground) In this timeline, Maldini is still Milan’s sporting director. After all, he got Italy into the World Cup, so what’s wrong with firing RedBird? Also, since the 2026 World Cup hasn’t started yet, there’s no need to kowtow to anyone. Wait, no, let’s still kowtow to Dzeko. Theme: Save Italy.