As part of Manchester City’s trophy tour, the Premier League and two other cups of the English club visited the premises of RMC Sport this Wednesday, in the company of Ali Benarbia. The ex-midfielder, who played at PSG and City in the early 2000s, took the opportunity to look forward to the Champions League clash between the two big names scheduled for the evening at the Parc des Princes (9 p.m.) .
Ali Benarbia, how do you view this PSG-Manchester City which seems very indecisive…
It is a pleasure to see this match in a very beautiful stadium, the Parc des Princes. With two teams who will give us pleasure and two coaches who want to win through play and not absolutely win. We are going to have a tactical battle I think, technical too, because we are lucky to have exceptional players. But then the scenario, sincerely, I can’t give it to you, in the sense that I like these two clubs and they are practically in the same position. In the league, it’s true that Paris feels much better than Manchester City, even if things are a little better at the moment.
In the Champions League, it’s still different…
Yes, Manchester City have asked themselves a lot of questions in the last few matches and Paris still has just as many questions, in the sense that they are chasing this play-off place. It will go through strong moments and above all knowing who will be able to manage these strong moments.
How do you judge this Manchester City team?
We were talking about the spine. They were used to playing in a certain way, which could allow them to express themselves. You still have a ‘rock’ who is Ruben Dias, often injured. You have the engine of the team which is Rodri and the brain which is De Bruyne. As soon as these three players play on the pitch, Manchester City wins almost all their matches. But as soon as one or two are missing… These three players have never been 100%. Dias is coming back. As soon as you see that Dias comes back, defensively it doesn’t take a goal, the boss is back. The team changes. Manchester City needs this trio so that the others can express themselves.
Are you still impressed by Erling Haaland’s performances?
Yes. But above all, what I find very impressive is being able to play for Manchester City in his center forward role. With a lot of patience when the ball turns on the pitch without being able to touch it and being able to finish the actions. It’s very hard, it requires an exceptional mentality for an attacker like Haaland.
How can we explain the bad patch that City has gone through in recent months?
I think almost all clubs have holes. We see it with Real Madrid where people say it’s over and then at the end, they win the Champions League. We saw it with Liverpool or Bayern Munich, who normally, at the end of the championships, crushed everyone. Afterwards, you have to be in a locker room to understand the things that are not going so well. I think it’s getting better and we’ll see it this evening (during PSG-City).
What do you think of the Luis Enrique era at PSG?
I only talk about football, I’ve always talked about the field. After communication… What you say or what you don’t say is a job to protect both the team and the club. But it’s a bit similar to what Guardiola does, with different players, with long-term work. But that’s what the new PSG is trying to implement with this coach. Yes, it’s cringe, it’s hard and we want it to work straight away. After the choices, does he have a more distant vision than ours? I hope. It’s not 100% great and we see it in the Champions League. Of course, they say he lacks finishing, but I’m sorry, finishing also depends on the defender, goalkeeper, midfielder and striker. It’s not just the attacker. When we criticize Manchester City because the goals don’t arrive, it’s a whole chain. It’s not just Haaland.
-Paris Saint-Germain is the same thing. Afterwards, if we look at the PSG squad and the number of matches played, it is not easy in this competition to be able to finish the actions, to make the difference. It takes a certain number of matches to be able to put pressure on the opponent and this aggression in front of goal. You can’t have it with very few matches in the Champions League. You can’t ask everything from a team that is surrounded by a lot of young people like PSG. Afterwards, if you manage to keep these players, in three, four or five years, that’s great. Unfortunately, at PSG we need results straight away and it’s not easy. Luis Enrique does a good job, he also makes mistakes sometimes (…) Look at Pep Guardiola, on the seven-eight games without a victory. Why didn’t he correct it? We can also ask ourselves questions, even the best can make mistakes. Luis Enrique is putting something together. Maybe this time we will have a little more patience with this coach.
How can PSG shake Manchester City?
Aggression. PSG’s way of moving and keeping the ball is very good. PSG will have to be aggressive in all areas and for 90 minutes. It will be very difficult physically. PSG can do it. They need to bring out the best in terms of pressing. Recovery is what Luis Enrique loves. This is what Guardiola also does at City. Who will recover the ball the fastest and the highest, that’s what will make the difference. Afterwards, it’s still football and you need goals. PSG is very good in transition. We come back to the basics, who will make the difference first and how the opponent will react.
What do you think of Luis Enrique’s choice to play without a real number 9?
I always needed a striker. So playing without number 9 and without number 10 doesn’t really appeal to me. But now, when you see the way they are developing their game, going through the flanks, because more and more defenses are very strong in the middle, they are right. You have to be able to find an attacker who is patient enough to perform well in the slightest opportunity or in the slightest cross and that is very hard to find for these teams. Guardiola asked me a question: ‘Would you be happy to play in my team?’, of course, it would be a pleasure. When you have the ball, you have ten solutions, it’s much easier not to lose the ball.
You came to the RMC sport editorial team this Wednesday with certain Manchester City trophies, such as that of the Premier League…
It impresses me all the time because I know what you have to do to win a trophy, what you have to do to win a championship. For me, it was mainly the championships. It’s a whole season, it’s totally different from a cup. For example, PSG got their hands on Ligue 1, but with this new version of the Champions League, it’s not easy, it’s totally different. PSG will have to fight in the long term to be able to go all the way.
After wearing the PSG jersey (1999-2001), you played for two seasons at Manchester City (2001-2003). What is your best memory in England?
So it’s impressive, it’s my first match. I’m at Charles de Gaulle airport, I have to catch my flight. I miss the first flight, I take the second, I arrive at 11 a.m. and the match is at 12:30 p.m. It’s the famous big match against Birmingham, under a beautiful sun. Kevin Keegan (City manager), who is a friend now, said to me: ‘For the first one, you’re late. Come on, hurry up’. I came in, played my match and had the chance to make an assist. We finally win 3-0. I got a standing ovation and was named man of the match. I think that what the fans gave me during this first match was essential for the future, it allowed me to have two exceptional seasons at Manchester City.
You only stayed two years and yet the City fans are still very grateful to you…
Exactly. But I think something happened. At this period, Manchester City was moving up a lot between the first and second divisions. With a bit of an English way of playing. Let’s say that I prepared today’s Manchester City. At certain times, Kevin Keegan trusted us and we could end up with three number 10s. For a team that is playing to stay in the Premier League or stay in the second division, that’s not in style at all. And it worked really well. I was also lucky enough to captain City in the Premier League. Since then, City has continued and the club has never gone back down.
Nicolas Pelletier with Alexandre Jaquin
