Neymar during the C1 final last summer. – LLUIS GENE / POOL / AFP
Armed with their best selling points, the journalists present in conf on the eve of Bayern-PSG have tried to repurpose the theory of the “revenge match” to Marquinhos and Pochettino. But the duo are not buying. For the Parisian captain, holder this summer during the final of the Champions League (Final 8 version), the water has already flowed under the periphery of the Porte d’Auteuil.
“It’s another context, another coach too, he asked. It is true that many players who were present during the final stayed but others left. “But the Brazilian will not go so far as to spit on this little motivation lever if he can serve the group on Wednesday night. “If some people want to take this to motivate themselves a little more, it is welcome, but today we are in another context,” he concluded.
Pochettino will not go on that ground
At that time, Mauricio Pochettino did not yet know that he would be Thomas Tuchel’s successor. This final, he watched it “as a simple spectator”. So no question of tickling this mental chord in his players on Wednesday, not even a little?
“Honestly, no. It is not a match that we take as a reference to prepare this one, he explained. It has nothing to do with a final context. The feeling of revenge still exists but, beyond that, our goal is above all to prove to ourselves that we are capable of playing well against the reigning European champion. That’s our challenge, to beat a team as strong as Bayern. It is indeed a challenge which is sufficient in itself.