Should we see in the highlighting of Gonçalo Ramos, the first to appear before the press in Dortmund on Tuesday, a reward for services rendered to the homeland? Or a broader strategy from PSG on the eve of its most important match of the season (before the next) which consists of protecting the holders from any additional pressure to that crushing of the mythical yellow wall? Maybe a little of both. The Portuguese, hero of the weekend thanks to his goal at the buzzer against Le Havre, is not intended to start the game tomorrow, as his coach should renew Barcelona’s 11. Before the first leg against the Blaugranas, it was Danilo Pereira (not a minute on the clock that evening) who responded to the journalists. Coincidence? We don’t believe it.
At the moment in Paris, almost everything revolves around Luis Enrique. It seems that we had to wait until the Champions League semi-final and the L1 title for the whole world to end up admitting that the one who sits on the bench at the Parc des Princes is not a common Antoine Kombouaré of Asturias. Strengthened by his moral victory, the Spanish technician feels the right to say that “the press understands nothing about football” because it dared to make PSG the favorite of its half, all while taking the light which it had so far been refused. And naturally the dark side that goes with it. “We have the ability to reach the final but we have to know how to handle pressure, have a good match, be ambitious. This pressure should not be seen as a threat. »
“My team is the best”
Lucho, however, seems keen to postpone until the next day the moment when the weight of the event and the hostility of the yellow wall will fall on the shoulders of his men. Before that, its probable starters are asked to stay warm on the pitch at Signal Iduna Park (24 degrees, Paris cannot say the same) for evening training. The agenda? To like. “When you come to stadiums like this, you have to have fun first. Today’s training session should be about enjoying the place. » Which players know from having visited it in December. But hey, you can never have too many benchmarks, especially against an opponent who is undefeated at home in C1 since the start of the season.
Paris Saint-Germain certainly failed to bring down Borussia in front of their home crowd during their first visit to the Ruhr, but they nonetheless remained ambitious before the second act. “We improved everywhere. We are better defensively, offensively. We can still improve without a doubt. We try to be demanding, we try to think that everything is not done and everything remains to be done. […] We are ready to play two big matches and win both, that is our goal,” said Luis Enrique, skilled in the exercise of expressing ambition while putting his people at ease.
“ “All teams have their qualities and faults. I have one quality, which is that I think my team is the best and that my players are the best. » »
The youth of this PSG? A “not important” factor according to Luis Enrique
They are also the youngest. With an average age of 25 years and 16 days, the Parisians have the third average age among the C1 semi-finalists of the last ten years. A youth obviously embodied by Warren Zaire-Emery but balanced by executives who play their roles perfectly, as Gonçalo Ramos explains. “Mbappé is one of the players who talks the most with other players. Whether it’s him, Marquinhos and Danilo, they help us to be more confident. » As for Luis Enrique, don’t talk to him about age. ” It does not matter. There are also more and more young people in cycling. In football, young people are ready earlier and earlier. I never made an 11 thinking about age. I think about their maturity, I watch how they train. I don’t care if they’re 55 or 16. » In both cases, the Spaniard will always make room for them under the screen of major European events.