The Parisian coach answered questions from the press on the eve of the clash against Barça.
Special envoy to Barcelona
Barça-PSG : “This match is special. When we signed for PSG, just 40 days ago, we already started to feel that this date was important, that this match was important. You can feel it everywhere in the team. It is a clear goal for PSG to win the Champions League. We understand the responsibility and expectations of people before this type of match. ”
PSG ready for the Barcelona challenge : “Of course, the team is always ready to fight. I don’t know a coach who would say his team isn’t ready just before a game (smile). The conditions are what they are. We will be ready to do our best. ”
“Building a better future”
Mental preparation after several failures in 8th : “I’m very calm. History is history. For us, it’s a different reality, with different players. The past cannot be changed, but it is about building a better future. And it is possible. It’s always the intention of a group, a staff and the whole club, to build something better, that’s our goal.
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Marco veratti : “You have to go step by step. We will evaluate Marco in training today, even if it will not be a very demanding session 24 hours before the match. We have a strategy, a game plan. And depending on the state of the players today, we will make a decision. And afterwards, everyone will see him tomorrow, at the stadium. “
Kylian Mbappé : I expect from him what I always expect from great players, and Kylian is one. I am very happy with his performance since I arrived. Each player must have their role and stick to it. The absences of Neymar and Angel Di Maria are important for us, but we have a very motivated team to play this match and to win it. “
“Create a common identity”
The Parisian cloakroom : “I found a fantastic team, with an incredible openness. They follow our instructions and want to create a common identity, which is our aspiration with all the staff. The president (Nasser Al-Khelaïfi) and the sports director (Leonardo) share this ambition. We don’t want to impose our ideas, but we want to create a unique identity, as we have already done in the past, because each club is different, each club is a world apart, with a culture of its own. You have to work to get there. But in any case we have found a wonderful team, the players all get along well, they like to train and fight together. We are therefore very happy, especially from a human point of view. ”
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The changes at Barça : “It’s always the same thing: when a new coach arrives, it takes time to set up a project, meet the needs and see the results of the philosophy we want to implement. Barça has evolved a lot after eight months with Ronald Koeman for eight months. With all the problems we have all experienced, the Covid, the injuries, we are in a totally different reality. It makes sense that with a new coach, it takes time. The team is now a lot stronger and it’s no surprise to me that Barca are having a good time now. ”
“I admired Koeman when he was a player, and now admire him as a coach”
The obsession with C1 : “In football, we often go from passion to obsession. We navigate between the two. We, those who are lucky enough to be part of this environment, love this sport so much that we think about it all day. We can’t stop thinking about football. So when I talk about obsession, it’s in a positive sense. It is simply a step beyond passion. And there is also this passion which borders on obsession in our club. There is so much emotion among the players, the fans, the members, the staff, everyone wants to win the Champions League. You can feel it when you get to the club. It is a great passion. The culture of the club? Each context is different. It takes time to analyze all of this. Now, we have been in a totally different reality, for about forty days. The most important thing is that we found a group of players and a staff open to the idea of collaborating. We arrived with the idea of collaborating with the team, not of imposing. We must achieve the objectives set by our president and our sports director, and build that identity, that philosophy that we need to get there. We adapt very quickly and we know that every moment has its difficulties. But we try to be positive and we are very motivated to fight. Hopefully, tomorrow, we manage to fight against this great team that also wants to win the Champions League, Barça, which also relies on great champions and a great coach in the person of Ronald Koeman. I admired him when he was a player. And now admire him as a coach. Unfortunately, only one of the two teams will be able to win … “
Remarks gathered during a press video conference
Leandro Paredes (PSG midfielder) : “The” remountada “? I only remember the result. It’s been too long, I don’t remember the game, but the most important thing is tomorrow’s game (Tuesday). We only think about that. (…) Having Lionel Messi against me will probably change the defense a lot. But we will try to do our best so that the game goes in our direction, to have the ball and that it does not put us in difficulty. (…) Messi at PSG? We talked about it a lot in the locker room, but I don’t want to talk about it now, only about tomorrow’s game, it’s a very important game and you have to prepare in the best way possible to win. (…) I feel very good, very confident. Mauricio gave me that confidence that I was looking for. I want to make the most of it and give him back that confidence. (on Neymar and Angel Di Maria packages) Their absence is very important for us, but we have a very large squad, with many very great players and we will have to play our best. (…) I don’t know if there is a favorite. These are two great teams that play well football. It will be difficult for both teams. The one who will do better will move on to the next round. (Barça in better shape than in the draw) It has always been a difficult draw, with Barça facing us, their history in this competition. We always took it like that. Above all, we have to see how we prepare for the match to do our best. ” (in press conference)
