The ghosts of PSG

Eleven years have passed since the sheikh revolutionized PSG to become one of the best teams on the planet. But not even a decade has been enough for the Parisians to lift their first Champions League. They say that in the top continental competition, history plays a crucial role. Neither the millions nor the quality are enough to raise the ‘Orejona’. You also have to know how to deal with the big nights, not succumbing to the pressure of the appointed days… Of course, Paris Saint Germain is the clear favorite to advance to the round this Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu. Not only because of the result (1-0 at the Parc des Princes), but also because of the evident dominance shown against their rival at home or the crucial casualties of Casemiro or Mendy. But in these weeks, something has changed. While Pochettino alludes to the enormous demand of the environment and the negativity that externally surrounds his team, in Madrid they believe in another appointment with magic. Small details and the ever-recurring story come to the fore again. “And if yes?”, he murmurs to himself on the outskirts of the white temple. The ghosts of PSG are back and it will be a major challenge to overcome them.

Al Khelaifi and Qatar have spent 1,000 million euros these years so that PSG resounds as champion. It all started with Pastore, the first Galactic for €42M. Ibrahimovic, Cavani, Di María ended up arriving… Neymar broke all football records, with a dizzying operation of 222 million. That same summer, Mbappé opted to continue in Ligue 1 and Monaco received 180 million in compensation. Since then, the first team has been shaping up, closing an amazing project with the arrival of Achraf and Leo Messi last summer. The names are there, they are players to beat. But is that enough? Their experience is a degree, but they also have to deal with pressures beyond the field of play. “There is no other choice but to win”, “the French competitions have no level, this team has to win the Champions League” or “PSG can be held responsible” are some of the sentences that this squad has suffered seasons ago. Now, with Real Madrid as a rival, the comeback drums are beating again. Pochettino sees positivity in the Spanish capital and too many doubts within his club’s borders.

Are they justified? Looking back at the Champions League years is discovering a new pattern. The one of a PSG that has gone ahead many times and that has fallen when even the most negative imagined in the next phase. In 2012-13, the sheikh’s first Champions League PSG bid farewell in the quarterfinals, with a team led by Ibrahimovic and Pastore. He fell against Barcelona, ​​despite the fact that he brushed the classification for several bars. The 2-2 draw at the Parc des Princes did not invite optimism, but Pastore scored at the Camp Nou after 50 minutes, putting his team ahead. Pedrito tied at twenty from the end and broke the Parisian illusion into pieces. It was a first contact, from which positive conclusions were drawn. Of course, in reality, at that time they did not know the buzz that would form with other similar examples. The curse of an inexperienced team that still doesn’t know what it’s like to be a champion.

In 2013-14, again hit with reality. PSG swept Leverkusen in the round of 16 and were clearly superior to Chelsea in the first leg of the quarterfinals. In Paris, he won by three goals to one. But at Stamford Bridge he failed to score and ended up giving in to a Demba Ba goal in the 87th minute.. After going ahead for almost the entire tie, a bit touching the buzzer brought them out of their sleep. Two years, two practically identical situations. More doubts came in 2014-15. Before they were details, now a catastrophe. Neymar’s Barcelona overwhelmed in France and at the Camp Nou and overcame the tie by five goals to one. War drums in the presidential box: the economic effort was not enough, the team had to be reinforced as it was. The next executioner of him was City, with those little coincidences that are no longer a coincidence. PSG lost a 2-1 lead at home (final 2-2) and while struggling to come from behind at the Etihad Stadium, De Bruyne sank them again fifteen minutes after the referee’s whistle.

The coup of the Camp Nou

Probably, the average reader does not remember the cases exposed previously, but, rather, those that are to come. In the recent history of PSG there are two dark episodes that are still kicking through the streets of Paris. The team came back as one of the big favorites for the 2016-17 edition. This was demonstrated, despite having been second in the group, in his stadium against Barcelona. The final 4-0 did not seem to give the azulgranas any chance for the second leg. Not only for results, but rather for that feeling of overwhelming superiority. Barça went out to come back and achieved a historic feat. Something had to do with the controversial performance of Aytekin, who, among other things, signaled a rigorous penalty on Luis Suárez and stopped calling one due to a foul on Ángel Di María. Despite this, Cavani scored with 3-0 on the scoreboard and only half an hour ahead. His goal forced the opponent to score three goals. In ’88, he still needed that number. But Neymar scored two and Sergi Roberto scored the qualifying goal in 95′. A painful and shocking image. Something had broken in the project. An electronic for the history of the competition. A message to the world: it was not worth the investment alone.

But the sheik gave the blow on the table that had been waiting for so long. In the same summer Neymar as the most expensive operation in football history. And Mbappé, young and semi-finalist as leader of a very unexpected Monaco. There were no excuses, but it was Real Madrid’s turn, despite being the leader, in the round of 16. The recent champion gave no option and rolled. Was it a year of transition? No, but he was fully aware that Ney and Kylian needed more time to be number one. Until impotence arrived, the great impotence. It was 2018 and PSG, almost like every year, was a candidate. He was first in the group and he played United, a rival, a priori, inferior. This is how it looked at Old Trafford, where the visitors won. No one believed what was happening. How could it happen again? How was Rashford able to score the final 1-3 in Paris at the horn? Neymar, injured, lived with enormous frustration what happened from the band. From runrún to disaster. “PSG has no history, it will never win a Champions League”, pronounced some media.

And now?

In these last two years, PSG has been filing its structure to form a winning block. Along the way, he has incorporated Messi or Achraf and has put the experienced Mauricio Pochettino on his bench. It does give the feeling of a winning team. Despite the fact that its pieces do not quite fit together, they go through a process, an adaptation. In the first leg of the round of 16, they showed their power with a sidereal Mbappé. Why are there so many doubts? Narrative is an inseparable part of sport. Madrid came at a bad time, tired, with Casemiro and Mendy suspended… But, suddenly, the injured Kroos recovers and points to the starting eleventhe team has just played one of the best games of the season against Real Sociedad and doubtful rebels like Camavinga vindicated themselves before their people. In addition, elimination from the Copa de Rey has given the whites the oxygen they needed like water in May. To make matters worse, although it was already foreseeable, in the vicinity of the Bernabéu there is a climate of comeback. The public is already walking around the Castellana with their scarves and encouraging the players to hit the table. There will be a deafening atmosphere, something that has always encouraged the first team to date with history.

And in Paris? Since the direct confrontation, doubts have resurfaced. Pochettino’s men were defeated by three goals to one against Nantes and also 1-0 against Nice, the only rival that still makes them fear the Ligue 1 title. They beat Saint-Etienne, with more efficiency than brilliance. The results do not accompany, but they are not the only reason. The past drums sound again: that hecatomb against Barça, that setback against United… Not in the locker room, or, at least, that’s what they say from inside. Mbappé, his top star this season, despite the fact that the Argentine coach has not yet put him above Leo Messi, received a hard blow from Gueye in training. His presence at the Bernabéu does not seem to be in danger, although he gave the scare. Anecdotes that return uncertainty.

“The environment of Madrid began to generate the machinery of a positive mentality, that it is possible to trace the result. We have the responsibility to preserve the result. We have only won the first part. A team does not win 13 European Cups by chance. He is in the bowels of this club and for that we respect him, but we have no fear. We try to isolate ourselves from external opinions. We are prepared for a very tough game. We will do our best. (…) I feel that the positive benefit is never granted when in doubt. I see too much negativity, while I see the Real Madrid media being positive. In football you win and you lose. We always think of the positive, the best. We can’t think of anything other than winning”, repeats Pochettino in his appearance. He sends a direct message, although it is inevitable to remember that his PSG meet their ghosts again. The responsibility of chasing them away will be in the legs of the chosen ones definitely. The great nights are always for the great players. Those who only look forward. The answer, at the Bernabéu.