AC Milan goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, has released an interview to the microphones of DAZN Heroes. Here are his words:
"The role of the goalkeeper is a difficult role, in which you are alone. You have to do a very precise job. So, it needs a very strong mentality and personality, because often the goalkeeper is the most important man on the team."
On the role he wanted when he was only a child:
"When I was little I wanted to be a midfielder or a forward, in short, an outfield player. I became a goalkeeper because I lost a bet with one of my coaches, Romain Damiano. I had to go to Clairefontaine for the test, and I he said that if I had reached the last step he would have confirmed me as goalkeeper. And so it was (smiles)."
On his favourite player:
"As a child, the player I watched the most was Gerrard, because I cheered for Liverpool, and I liked him a lot."
On winning the Scudetto:
"I expected to win immediately. Before coming to Milan I spoke with the club for a long time, and the first thing I said was that I wanted to bring Milan to its level together with all my teammates."
On first meeting Ibrahimovic at PSG:
"I remember my first year in the first team in Paris. During a training session, we work on the strikers' finish. We all knew how hard Ibra kicked. He kicked a very strong ball from inside the box to try and challenge me. I saved it. At the end of training, in the locker room, he told me that he liked my mentality, and to continue like this. Today, eight years later, we are here together."
On being compared to Gianluigi Donnarumma:
"Last year I didn't feel the pressure, even if I inevitably saw that people made many comparisons between me and Donnarumma. But this doesn't change anything to me. Before every game I isolate myself, because outside people talk too much and I don't want to feel their pressure on me. I help myself with music, or I try to close myself in my world."
Maignan his relationship with Dida:
"When I arrived in Milan we talked a lot, right away. I always try to learn from him, understand with him where I can improve, get to know Milan: he has always helped me a lot."
On coach Stefano Pioli:
"The Coach always talks to us: before every match, every day, he talks to us to transmit will and trust. Before and during the half-time of the decisive derby last season, he spoke to all of us to make us feel the confidence."
On the study of opposing strikers:
"The attacker is a role that I like very much. When I watch the matches, I look more at the attackers than the goalkeepers: so when the attackers arrive in front of me, I can try to understand first what they can do, if they kick or opt for a pass."
Maignan on the Rossoneri fans:
"We have the best fans in Italy. They gave us a lot of strength last year. I still remember in Rome, against Lazio, when practically the whole stadium was ours, or in Sassuolo: in Reggio Emilia we were sure of winning, because we had faith in us and for the strength that the Rossoneri fans transmitted to us from outside."
