“Incredibly tough” – Manchester City starter on his difficult summer
by Naveen Ullal · Sport WitnessManchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma says new manager Enzo Maresca has created a “wonderful atmosphere” within the club.
Last summer, the Premier League side signed the 27-year-old from Paris Saint-Germain, when Pep Guardiola was in charge.
The Italy international has been the starter since then and won the EFL Cup and the FA Cup in his debut season at Manchester City. He kept 21 clean sheets and conceded 46 goals from 49 matches so far.
Guardiola stepped down at the end of last season and the Citizens appointed Maresca as his successor in the summer.
Manchester City lost the Community Shield to Arsenal in August. Since then, they have won every fixture, scoring 15 goals and conceding four goals from six matches.
Manchester City man on Maresca’s importance
This includes a win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, after playing the majority of the match with 10-men.
Sky Italia had a chat with Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Calciomercato have relayed his comments.
When asked about their derby win over the Red Devils, the goalkeeper talks about Enzo Maresca’s faith in him.
“It was a very emotional victory. Maresca has great faith in me; he chose me as one of the team captains, and it’s a huge source of pride for me to represent this jersey with that responsibility. He pays great attention to detail, he helps you a lot, and he created a wonderful atmosphere,” he said.
| Every Manchester City signing 26/27 | Previous Club | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Enzo Fernández | Chelsea | £125m |
| Elliot Anderson | Nottingham Forest | £116m |
| Ayyoub Bouaddi | Lille | £81.4m |
| Iliman Ndiaye | Everton | £65m |
| Allan | Palmeiras | £32m |
| Mathys Detourbet | Troyes | £21.7m |
| Jeremy Monga | Leicester City | £10m |
| Pierce Charles | Sheffield Wednesday | £3m |
| Geronimo Rulli | Marseille | £1.7m |
Difficult summer for Manchester City starter
Gianluigi Donnarumma made his national team debut in 2016 and has played 83 matches so far.
He won the European championship with Azzurri in 2020, defeating England in the final. However, the stopper is yet to make his World Cup debut, as Italy failed to qualify for the last three editions, including the one in America and Mexico in June-July.
The Manchester City star admits this made his summer more challenging. He wants to put this disappointment behind him to help Italy turn things around under Roberto Mancini.
“I already know the environment I’ll be facing, because it hasn’t been an easy summer: it’s been incredibly tough,” Donnarumma explained.
“Now we need to turn the page, we need to be optimistic and positive again, and rebuild a great group. And only among ourselves can we do that.”
“We all have to rewrite our history together. Watching the World Cup without us was incredibly hard for all the players. But we have to keep our heads up; there’s no alternative.”