Between PSG and FC Barcelona, there have been numerous confrontations in the Champions League since the launch of the QSI era at Paris Saint-Germain. The 1/8th final of C1 in 2017 nevertheless remains the most violent for Parisian supporters given the dramatic conclusion in Barcelona and this famous comeback. Zoumana Camara drew up a terrible observation on this nightmarish evening.
On March 8, 2017, the PSG traveled to the Camp Nou pitch with a historic lead of 4 goals in the cumulative score of these 1/8 finals of the Champions League against the FC Barcelona. However, it did not take long for doubt to begin to settle in men's heads. d'Unai Emery so that this evening turns into a nightmare.
“In the preparation for the match, the desire was not to play low and wait”
Zoumana Camara was part of the technical staff ofUnai Emery that evening and assured during the last podcast of the Club of 5 that the game plan put in place by the Spanish coach was to attack and not to go into management mode against the FC Barcelona of Luis Enrique.
“The comeback? It's always difficult to analyze and find the answers afterwards. One thing is certain, it is that in the preparation for the match, the desire was not to play low and wait. It was really about going and looking for them. (…) There isn't a crazy intensity, but you concede a goal in the first 5 minutes. Obviously, in your approach, you say to yourself: damn, damn 4-0, we concede a goal after 4 minutes. Maybe instead of moving two meters forward, you move back one meter because you're feeling secure. And then behind it, you have the referee's decisions which are not very clear. And then there's everything that doesn't fit together as it should and that's what it looks like. And you have the impression in football, what could change all that, but it doesn't exist, it's the downtime.
“You had the impression that there was a death, it was terrible”
However, the first goal conceded which led to two others did not seal the hopes of the PSG who thanks to Edinson Cavani had regained a significant advantage over this double Champions League opposition. However, Paris Saint-Germain still lost with a score of 6 goals to 1 in the end. A memory that still haunts Zoumana Camara so much did he confuse the Parisian group of the time.
“After half-time, we come back in other arrangements at a given moment Edi (editor's note Edinson Cavani) scores and it is 3-1. You have (Angel) Di Maria going on goal, getting cut up by (Javier) Mascherano, and even Mascherano said there was a foul. What do you want to do? I can tell you that that evening, it was hard, you shouldn't have been in the locker room or on the plane home. You had the impression that there was a death, it was terrible. And there, you tell yourself that you are doing this job to find the words for the guys to leave again, but they are competitors.”
