Difficult to do better than the first steps of Mike Maignan as number one of the Blues. Last March, the 28-year-old goalkeeper disgusted Memphis Depay by diverting his penalty during the France-Netherlands match (4-0), before, three days later, preserving a precious success during the trip to Ireland (1- 0) with a phenomenal save on a header from Nathan Collins. In a few days, Maignan has put everyone in his pocket.
After Hugo Lloris spent thirteen years as a starter in the France team, the task was going to be tough for the doorman trained at PSG. But, without complex and in the continuity of his accomplishments in the club, Mike Maignan naturally took over. “I know what he is capable of doing, said Deschamps in March, after the success in Ireland (1-0) during the Euro qualifiers. He has all the qualities, stature and mind. He’s a leader. There was already the penalty saved against the Netherlands, but this save against Ireland is worth even more. I had no doubts and uncertainties for the succession. When Mike is in full possession of his faculties, it’s at a very high level. »
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After winning unanimous support in Ligue 1 with the title won in 2021 with Losc, Mike Maignan was tempted by a major challenge in Italy by joining the historic club AC Milan. If fans didn’t know him when he arrived, two years later, San Siro is under the spell of “Magic Mike”, as Italian football specialist for Eurosport Guillaume Maillard-Pacini explains to Le Point. “The first season was exceptional in a particular moment, because he had to succeed Donnarumma, the child of the club, who left in a stormy context because he signed free for PSG. Not many people in Italy knew who he was, but he quickly made his mark, to the point of impressing and being acclaimed for his position, with Milan also taking the title. »
If his last season was marked by a long calf injury which made the Rossoneri suffer in the heart of winter, Mike Maignan is considered a captain of the Milan locker room. “We say here that he is a total goalkeeper,” continues Guillaume Maillard-Pacini. He has excellent kicking, is very good technically, and he is a leader with charisma. After the retirement of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, his coach Stefano Pioli even said that the only one who in his eyes had character and leadership like him was Maignan. In Milan, in Italy in general, he inspires and impresses. »
With 61 goals conceded in 71 matches with Milan for 30 clean sheets, the Blues goalkeeper can boast of having one of the cleanest records among his colleagues in Italy. “There was almost a stock shortage for his jersey last season, we could no longer buy it on the club website. For a goalkeeper, it’s very rare to get to this point. He is a real figure of Milan,” analyzes Guillaume Maillard-Pacini on the popularity of the Frenchman in Lombardy.
But where Maignan impresses today is in the face-to-face on penalties. Serene on his line, the former Parisian goalkeeper stopped 14 in his career, out of 46 attempts. A ratio that propels him to the rank of eminent specialist in this very particular exercise.
Éric Allibert, his former goalkeeping coach at Losc, told L’Équipe about Maignan’s method for performing well on penalties: “He’s a goalkeeper who has exceptional power. Look at his support, his cladding, his ability to bend and push. He will delay his departure as much as possible, do not anticipate and, due to his explosive qualities, spring out and have more chances of pushing him back. And as he has a rare reactivity… He entered a virtuous circle too, I think. The attackers now know that he is strong in this exercise and that inevitably disturbs them. »
