G.B. Olivero, writing in Gazzetta dello Sport, had this to say about Lautaro Martinez and Mike Maignan:
"Yesterday, Lautaro reported for duty at Appiano Gentile. Could he have asked for a few extra days of holiday? Of course. Would he have been granted them? Certainly, especially given how much the Argentine carries the team throughout the year. But he did none of that. Lautaro enjoyed 20 days of rest, processed the disappointment of losing the World Cup final without playing a single minute, and is now preparing for another season in which he will be a leading figure. Alongside him at Appiano was Marcus Thuram, who experienced the World Cup as an outsider looking in (one minute on the pitch), but always with a smile on his face. The same smile he showed in the first training images.
"Mike Maignan is a less sunny character, simply a matter of personality. His World Cup ended a day before Lautaro's, with the six goals conceded against England in the third-place play-off. But his holiday will last a week longer. The Milan captain will return to Milanello on the 16th, four days later than originally scheduled (which already seemed generous). Rabiot will follow the same programme: after all, if the captain can do it, everyone can. The example has already been set."
"Maignan is a goalkeeper, follows a different training programme and needs little time to prepare for his competitive debut. But if some fans are unhappy about it, well, that is understandable because the new calendar demands a fast start: five league games before the autumn international break, and dropping points straight away would be serious."
Clearly, Maignan did not take into consideration how Milan's season ended, with their shock exclusion from the Champions League. He did not consider the need for Amorim to work with and instruct the entire squad. He did not consider his role in the dressing room, which is just as important as his role on the pitch.
There are worse things, of course, and if the club granted him a few extra days of holiday, it will have made its own assessment. Two outstanding saves will be enough for Maignan to make peace with fans who are struggling to forgive him even for missing Baresi's funeral. He was on the other side of the world and did not know Franco particularly well, that is true. But there was time to return, and the captain's armband is not merely decorative: it demands a certain standard of conduct, especially when paying tribute to someone who wore it so magnificently for 15 years.
