On the occasion of the 7th day of Champions Leaguethe PSG receives
Manchester City au Princes Park. On the eve of the meeting, the traditional press conference is being held today from Campus
PSG. A meeting with the journalists who ensure
Luis Enrique.
Tomorrow's match (PSG TV)
“First of all it’s the return of the Champions League to the Parc des Princes. I think it's a difficult match. But also motivating and exciting. We are ready, really.”
The supporters (PSG TV)
“I have no doubt, the supporters will be decisive as usual. It’s important to have that connection with them. And tomorrow will be a great day.”
His relationship and similarities with Pep Guardiola
“Tomorrow is a special match, not only for the two teams but also because I am going to see a friend with whom I shared many years as a player and coach too. It is a great joy to see him again. What brings us together is our idea of football. I believe that no one will doubt our overall philosophy of play, of trying to be better than the opponent with the ball, of pressing continuously… There are nuances, because each coach develops according to his players, but We initially have a very similar game idea. We will be able to see a very good football match I think.”
A tactical move to surprise Pep Guardiola?
“It’s obvious that it’s a very important match. Everyone must be ready. City do a lot of things tactically, they change positions, that's one of the things we have to beat on the pitch. But we also offer a lot of different options. It's a match that comes at a complicated time for both teams in the standings. But at the same time both teams will try to deploy our best weapons. Whoever is best prepared or adapted will win by developing their idea.”
Luis Enrique or Pep Guardiola, who best represents FC Barcelona?
“For me, Barça's 4-3-3, the one who brought it to the perfect model, is Guardiola. He's a number 1, a different coach, with a unique model. A person who innovated in the world of football. It is certainly a reference. I am lucky to be his friend. He is someone who opened up a completely different way of playing. (….) It opened the door to many coaches after him. Me, I stick to the ball…. It’s a very Spanish play on words.”
The most important match since his arrival at PSG?
“The most important game of this season, I hope it's not City's, but a little later in the competition. Where we would play a song. That's my hope, that we play other very important matches. But this one is special, with the new format of the C1 I don't think anyone could predict that City and PSG were going to have this number of points on the 7th day. Today we still don't know how many points we need to qualify. After this day, it’s possible we’ll know.”
Is Pep Guardiola going to innover?
“Pep has innovated throughout his career. He is not afraid to use new ideas. It's a match that gives us the opportunity to adapt as a team to times when we need to know how to defend. With all the variations of Guardiola. It's very exciting and motivating, because we are a very young team, despite a lot of qualities. You have to be able to complicate things for a team of this size. It’s very stimulating.”
A particular pressure
“Why pressure? No. I rest players based on their physical condition, their problems, a blow, discomfort… But from there, no pressure. We want to be professional to play this match at the Parc as well as possible. Be up to the task for our supporters. I believe that the fans have seen this season a team which never gives up, fights at all times, to turn a match over at the last minute if necessary, which can win on penalties… It's all positive . We could have been more efficient at certain times, it's true. But there are positive things like our ambitious mindset.”
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His clashes against Guardiola, the importance of defending well
“I don’t remember the matches in particular (against Guardiola). But if anything can define us, it's that we like to attack. We like to defend, well and a lot. But we put our game plan in place to attack and be better than the opponent. The opponents have a very high level. We will see what type of match there will be. We hope that with our attitude seen in all matches, and the support of the fans, we will be better than the opponent. We know it will be difficult, but tomorrow we will see a very good and powerful version of PSG. I can’t wait for tomorrow to come.”
Luis Enrique's playing philosophy
“It all starts with the ball. We want the ball, more than the opponent. These matches are open. It's difficult to take the ball away from a PSG player like City. Both teams are better when they have the ball. And there's only one. We don’t want to not have the ball, that’s what generates having chances.”
The obligation to qualify
“An obligation for a player and a coach is to give 100% and improve. (….) In life, no one can win everything, all the matches, all the titles. One day you have to know how to deal with defeat.”
The eleven to line up tomorrow
“I won’t be able to say. We arrive at this match recovering at great speed. It’s motivating for the players obviously. But they can't all be aligned. It's the same at City. But there are other matches then, Stuttgart, Ligue 1… There will be a lot of things that I will have to manage tomorrow morning while having my cappuccino.”
Defeats in the Champions League
“PSG should have won the matches against PSV and Atlético at home. But football is capricious. With 5 more points, we would be qualified and not in this situation. Like last season, we had to fight until the last match to qualify. So it's a constant. We had two difficult groups. So we lost games. What I see gives me optimism and confidence.”
The statistics of Dembélé and Barcola
“I sincerely believe that if we compare PSG last year and this season, we had a reference player who scored a large number of goals (Mbappé). This year we said we were going to resolve this with the team and not just one player. None of our players have shown before that they can score 25 goals, so we have to resolve with the team. Important is that we score more than last season and concede fewer goals.”
A propos de Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
“In principle, I think we all know the player. He is a player who has demonstrated his level in Naples and in the selection. Perfectly adaptable to our idea of a game, which has a great capacity to win in 1 against 1, inside, in nine too. We saw it in the selection… I think it responds to the idea of versatility. He has a good ability to defend too, we need to defend with 11 men. I think he adapts on paper to our idea of football.”
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