The endless wait is over. The Champions League is back this week with a packed schedule spread over three days, from Tuesday to Thursday. Indeed, the biggest competition is getting a makeover and is offering a new format. For this first day of the championship phase, Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain is hosting the Spanish club Girona at the Parc des Princes. A team that the former FC Barcelona coach knows very well for having observed and analyzed them throughout their incredible epic last season in La Liga. But knowing a team does not mean being prepared for every eventuality, quite the contrary. Indeed, Girona remains a dangerous team that has nothing to lose and that will try to scrape together every single point in the hope of being able to lock in a place for the play-offs in the round of 16 of the competition. Present at a press conference this Tuesday at noon, Luis Enrique was full of praise for the Catalan club.
“Nobody expected this, it’s the first time that Girona will play in the Champions League. I saw all their games last season. They are one of the best Spanish teams with a great coach, Michel. They played great football, they play very well with the ball. I am also a fan of Girona. Michel showed at his level how he makes his team play. I really like these coaches who have the courage to play in attack, to create. I like the intensity and I don’t know what we will find tomorrow. Knowing him, they will attack and be brave like they did against Barça. I don’t think they will change their model“But beyond a new and unprecedented opponent capable of anything, the Spanish coach knows full well that all the C1 matches will be special to prepare for because of the reform.
A special format that changes everything
The group stages are over, time for the championship phase with two more games added to the calendar to qualify for the rest of the competition. With 8 matches – instead of six – Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain must take each match seriously since all the participating teams have a different calendar. The former coach of La Roja admits to moving forward in the shadows with this new format: “It is certain that the calendar with these 2 or 4 games added to the calendar, I believe that to analyze the new competition, we will have to wait for the performances of the teams to see what they brought to the competition. We already had very high level games. It is something that everyone wants to see especially our supporters. To evaluate the whole as it is a new format, we will have to wait a little. It is obvious that the 10/12 teams that have expectations do not have the same calendar. We are not going to use our calendar as an excuse. We will enter the competition, fight in each game because it is a competition where equality is very clear and the difficulties are maximum“, he explained at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. For a coach as meticulous and observant as Luis Enrique, this reform shakes up habits.
Also present at the press conference, captain Marquinhos sounded the alarm on the risk of major injuries and drops in form for the players, directly affected by this reform, especially since PSG is one of the rare teams to play in the Club World Cup next June in the United States: “It’s great to have more games, but it’s a very busy schedule, it’s really every three days. We have a good group, a great team, the coach manages to manage the intensity of the games. Some teams can’t manage players and that’s where the players’ health comes into danger. The new format brings more high-intensity games and it demands a lot physically and mentally. We do what we love, we’re never going to say no to a game. If it’s for the best of shows, everyone will have to sit down at some point to move in the right direction. It’s football that will lose if there start to be problems.“, he explained. In any case, PSG is ready for all eventualities in this long and grueling season that is announced.
