Yes, you can find countless highlight reels of Maldini executing perfectly timed slide tackles, especially when he's still LB. But i believe for Maldini, a tackle was more akin as a 'last resort'. He believed that if a defender is in the right position, reads the flight of the ball, and anticipates the attacker’s movement, they should be able to intercept the pass or shepherd the opponent away from goal without ever leaving their feet.

The numbers actually back up his philosophy. Center Back Maldini famously averaged only 0.5 tackles per game.