Luis Enrique led a caravan of stressed people this Tuesday in Dortmund. “What if they are eliminated?” They insisted on asking the Spanish coach, who stirred in his chair and cast inflamed glances at his inquisitors, mixing Bruce Lee with Van Gaal in the same paraphrase: “Positive! “Be positive my friend!”
For the first time since 2011, when the Qatari sovereign investment fund QSI acquired ownership of Paris Saint-Germain, the team seriously risks its qualification for the round of 16 of the Champions League. If they do not beat the leader of Group F in the old Westfalenstadion this Wednesday, they risk being eliminated. Even a draw, adding 8 points, could leave him out if at St James Park Newcastle, which has 5 points, beats Milan, which also has 5. The so-called Ggroup of death It is so tight that until the referees blow the final whistle and the round is over, everyone will have a chance to move on to the next phase.
“If you don't want pressure, you shouldn't sign for the big clubs,” Luis Enrique said yesterday before leading the last training session. “Enjoy the show!” The PSG coach was defiant in the face of the most dramatic event of this group stage of the Champions League. His brief career at France's richest club, where he joined last summer, is full of contradictions. He has not tried too hard to seduce public opinion. He doesn't speak French. He doesn't pretend to be nice and sometimes even he seems to rejoice in showing all the acrimony in him. But the effect is mysterious. The local press understands him less than the fans, who have become more attached to the team than in other seasons. PSG probably has its least valuable squad in the last five years, but there is something in the team's play that manages to convey more emotion. Messi, Neymar, and Verratti, the main strategists until last year, are not there, but under the guidance of the Asturian coach the team plays vibrant, daring football, full of the intention of dominance. The collective commitment is energetic. Young people in development abound. They only lack the continuity and poise that comes with maturity.
“We players understand the coach's philosophy better and better,” Marquinhos observed this Tuesday; “and the coach understands the squad better and better.”
The philosophy is suffocating pressure in the opposing half and quick and deep elaboration through multiple associations in the central lanes. Easy to state and very difficult to execute when Mbappé and Dembelé are two of the three attackers. Luis Enrique has a huge job before him. The lack of defensive vocation of his two figures forces the others to make compensations that end up exhausting the midfield, where Ugarte exhibits immaturity and Fabián, Vitinha, Lee, Zaïre-Emery have to cover great distances and carry out too many tasks . The road is not easy but the game is the most attractive that fans remember in recent years. All that remains is for the results to validate the progress. If last season in Ligue 1 PSG accumulated 41 points in 15 games, now after the same games they have 36 points. And qualification for the Champions League round of 16 is not guaranteed with one game remaining, something unthinkable in other times.
“We will not speculate,” Luis Enrique warned about the duel in Dortmund. “We have scored in every game in this Champions League and we will go out to play thinking about winning and being first in the group. We won't change anything. My thinking is positive. I think that in a very difficult group, where only Borussia Dortmund is classified and there are two teams that do not depend on themselves, we reach the last day depending on ourselves.”
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