Mike Maignan remains France’s established No. 1, but the Milan captain arrives at the international window in the middle of a rebuild rather than at the peak of his powers. The former Paris Saint-Germain academy goalkeeper has begun the season more convincingly, and a lengthy meeting with Fabien Barthez has given that recovery a fresh direction.
Key takeaways
- Maignan, 31, has won 48 caps and is set to retain France’s No. 1 shirt under Zinédine Zidane.
- Fabien Barthez recently spent almost five hours discussing the goalkeeper’s role and development with Maignan.
- AC Milan have recorded two shutouts in their opening five Serie A matches.
- Maignan was not considered at fault for any of Milan’s four league goals conceded so far.
- He is adapting to Ruben Amorim’s three-man defensive system, particularly in dealing with balls played beyond the back line.
Barthez offers a route back to Maignan’s best
There is no serious challenge to Maignan’s position with Les Bleus. Even after a World Cup in which the new France staff hoped he might have produced more decisive moments, their faith in him has remained intact.
Barthez, newly installed as France’s goalkeeping coach, has made a point of beginning that work in person. Their recent conversation lasted close to five hours, with the 1998 World Cup winner outlining his expectations and drawing on his own experience of the position. Maignan left the meeting persuaded by the approach and by Barthez’s intention to help him recover the standard he reached three years ago.
The pair had previous distance to overcome. In a 2023 interview, Barthez praised Maignan’s style and presence, admiring the fact that his game did not feel overly mechanical. But he also pointed to an error in Milan’s Champions League semi-final defeat to Inter, when Maignan was beaten at his near post, and suggested that another level was still available to him.
That level is the one Maignan reached in 2023-24, when he regularly seemed capable of closing the goal before an opponent could find a corner. He has not yet returned fully to that version of himself, but he is operating much more strongly than during the following campaign, his most difficult in the past five years.
A steadier Milan start, with more to learn
Milan’s early league numbers offer encouragement. Maignan has kept two clean sheets across five Serie A outings, while the four goals he has conceded in that run have not been attributed to mistakes on his part.
There have still been testing nights. Milan lost 2-0 to Benfica in the Europa League on September 16, conceding twice, and Maignan may have had a chance to keep out Dodi Lukebakio’s effort despite being partially screened when the shot was struck.
His work against Lazio was more reassuring. In the 2-2 league draw on September 12, he produced several important saves as Milan were pushed hard.
Amorim’s tactical set-up is also demanding a different kind of vigilance. With three defenders behind him, Maignan must read and manage space behind the line more effectively. It is a task he has embraced as he tries to become a more complete goalkeeper — and, for France, to turn a promising return into the revival of “Magic Mike.”
