AC Milan's star goalkeeper Mike Maignan is an important part of this year's lineup. He proved himself worthy of being a Rossonero and has saved his teammates many times thanks to his quick reflexes. The French goalkeeper who now boasts a Serie A Scudetto to his career, spoke to the microphones of La Gazzetta dello Sport:
"At the beginning there was the will to try. Then we had a less positive period, in which we almost panicked. But we talked and got back to work, telling each other that it wasn't over, that there were still many matches. And when Inter stumbled against Bolognan we understood that for them it was over, because we were now focused on ourselves. Thanks to the loss against Inter 3-0 in the Coppa Italia, we got motivated a lot."
On replacing Gianluigi Donnarumma:
"I have never felt any kind of stress about it, because it was never my goal to take the place of Gigio, or to make him forget. I came to Milan as a professional choice, to work and play my football. Then, when you work well, you reap the rewards. Of course, I knew that maybe they wouldn't boo me, but at Milan I immediately felt at home, and the affection of the fans is extraordinary."
Maignan on his injury:
"I was mostly frustrated. It was hard to accept. I played seven games with the injured hand and didn't want to stop, nor give up my teammates. After I stopped for some time, the pain didn't go away and I realized that I had to take care of myself. The specialist who followed me at Milan explained that I would have risked a one-year stop. So I had the operation, but I did everything to get back as soon as possible. Being at home doing nothing is not for me, I had too many goals. So I returned after six weeks instead of ten."
On Zlatan Ibrahimovic:
"He complimented me on the title with Lille, but he explained to me that in Italy it was quite another thing and that there was more pressure at Milan. Ibrahimovic is a an example for everyone. Like me, he gritted his teeth to hit the target as he had promised. I hope he'll be back with us soon."
