GdS: Experience, drills and mentality – how Filippi helped Maignan get back to his best

Massimiliano Allegri has previously been keen to point out the impact that one man has had on Mike Maignan: goalkeeping coach Claudio Filippi.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, the derby has sparked conversations about Maignan’s future naturally, but also about Filippi. Milan’s goalkeeping coach is renowned for a long career at the highest level having spent 15 years at Juventus, and now he has brought his expertise to Allegri again.

Filippi uses tools of the trade such as a ball-shooting machine and a hard plastic shield (designed and marketed by the coach himself) which helps manually deflect crosses and shots, as happens in matches.

Too many changes

Why is Maignan back to Scudetto-season levels? Firstly, he has changed coaches every season since 2020-21, which doesn’t help things. In that magical 2021-22 season, he had Dida, Gigi Ragno and Emiliano Betti.

In 2022-23, Dida left and Flavio Roma joined. In 2023-24, the Welshman Anthony Roberts – who once again worked with Gigi Ragno – took over. In 2024-25, Roberts left and Fonseca brought in Antonio Ferreira, while Conceiçao replaced him with Diamantino Figueiredo and Vedran Runje.

Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images

Too many changes. As soon as Allegri signed with Milan, he called Filippi. Where had he gone? Filippi, a 60-year-old Roman, arrived at Juventus in 2010 with Gigi Delneri and remained under Antonio Conte, Allegri, Maurizio Sarri and Andrea Pirlo.

Buffon is obviously his signature goalkeeper, and over the years an excellent relationship has developed between the two. Thiago Motta, however, preferred to rely on his staff, and Filippi worked with the youth teams last season. Tudor didn’t change the trend. It couldn’t last.

Penalty factor

Maignan seems to have improved under Filippi, especially mentally, and once again gives the impression of being a charismatic goalkeeper.

More objectively, he’s back to making decisive saves: on Neres in stoppage time against Napoli, on Gatti against Juve, on Zappacosta in Bergamo, on Hernani’s free kick in Parma. He’s also saving penalties too, something he hasn’t done since 2023.

This month, he’s kept out Dybala and Calhanoglu from 12 yards, perhaps the two best penalty takers in the league. Allegri publicly praised his right-hand man after the match: “Claudio Filippi is the best at this; he’s very good at preparing goalkeepers for penalties.”

A quote from Luca Marchegiani comes to mind: “I had Filippi at Chievo, and that was the year I saved five consecutive penalties. He had a unique way of preparing me. He taught me well.”

What has altered?

Allegri even said that Filippi was decisive in convincing Maignan to stay at Milan, and the impression is that he’s the key here. Maignan recognises Filippi as a top-notch professional and trusts him.

Those who know Milanello point out that this season Mike does fewer things in training but with more precision, and this too could be a key factor. History, however, shows that Filippi is a very analytical coach, who pays attention to the goalkeepers’ technical movements and posture.

He’s not a revolutionary, but a coach who follows the great Italian tradition. Mike adds his own way of being – it’s not easy to convince him to change – and, of course, his footwork, at which he’s among the best in the world.

In these three months, it’s working. Whether Maignan is the best goalkeeper in the league is debatable, with Mile Svilar also being a contender. That he has improved compared to the last two seasons, however, is a fact.