 Despite their key absences, Maldini helped the Milan defence keep a clean sheet and overcome Barcelona 4–0 in the final, with two goals from Daniele Massaro and one each from Dejan Savićević and Marcel Desailly.After winning his third Champions League title and reaching the 1994 World Cup final, Maldini became the first defender ever to win "World Soccer" magazine's annual World Player of the Year Award.During his acceptance speech, Maldini called his milestone "a particular matter of pride because defenders generally receive so much less attention from fans and the media than goalscorers.