With the departure of Kylian Mbappé, Paris Saint-Germain changed CAP. No longer having planetary stars, the capital's club has redirected to a project based more on the collective. What arouse several questions at the start of the season. Can Paris really be stronger without its world stars? Eight months later, the answer is final. The red and blue, crowned champions of France, walked on Ligue 1 and all its opponents were unanimous: this Paris is much stronger. He attacks, press like never and above all defends in unison. An observation radically opposed to that drawn up in recent years, especially in the Champions League. Result: Luis Enrique is signaling a second season as, even better, successful than his first.
“”This part of the game, many people and players do not consider it important»»
PSG has won the L1, will play the final of the French Cup (against Reims) and competes in a second consecutive semi-final of the Champions League (against Arsenal). Enough to give a XXL credit to a coach so criticized and questioned at the start of the season, when his PSG dominated, but did not know how to make his actions concrete. A coach who had however explained over and over again his goals for his Paris, namely a team that attacks and defends together and can rely on several different scorers. At 20, João Neves is one of the symbols of this new PSG. Recruited last summer in exchange for € 70 million, the midfielder embodies everything Luis Enrique wants. Versatile environment, the former resident of Benfica can evolve in the midfield, but also in the post of lateral. A real Swiss knife, the Lusitanian international is also decisive since it has 5 goals and 9 assists in 46 matches. Ardently desired by his coach, Neves is the incarnation of the fabric player as desired by Luis Enrique. Portuguese has also agreed to explain the ibère method in an interview with The Athletic. Starting with the integration of the concept of effort for defensive folds. An aspect of the game that has so often been lacking at PSG.
“Many players do not understand it, but the feeling is as follows:” We do not have the ball, so we have to recover it “. Even when you attack, you have to think, “If we lose the ball, what can I do?” This part of the game, many people and players do not consider it important, but if you want to spend more time attacking, you have to recover the ball if you lose it. In the five to ten seconds where you lose the ball, you must give yourself 100 or 120 %, because it is the best way to attack again. For the team against which we play, it is very difficult to recover the ball and then lose it. This part of the game is therefore very satisfactory. (…) Luis Enrique wants a team that gives itself 100 % in attack and 120 % in defense. This is why I am here and that I enjoy myself ”he said, before explaining that his coach had seduced him with his concept last summer, when he called him to convince him to sign at PSG. “He told me that he wanted a team defending and attacking with 11 players. I loved what he told me. »»
“”Today, I can play central defender, winger, lateral, midfielder, attacker»»
Between João Neves and Luis Enrique, the current has immediately passed. And at a time when some players are reluctant to evolve in another position than theirs, the Portuguese explained how the desire of his coach to have players capable of evolving in different positions has brought him a lot. “It gives me a lot of information. (…) Today, I can play central defender, winger, side, midfielder, attacker and we do not feel the difference because each player knows what other positions do. In training, we often change position on the ground. Sometimes I play as a side back and go to the midfield. It may seem trivial, but it is very important. These are small things, but in the end, it's a lot. (…) We have a lot of ball possession of each match, so I can be aligned as a lateral back, but I finish more as a winger or midfielder. The only thing that concerns me is how to defend, but Marquinhos is right next to me to tell me what to do or what to do better. (…) Sometimes the coach calls me in his office to show me images – what I did badly, what I did well. He knows that this is not my first post, but he is very understanding and I like his way of doing things. »»
Result: most Parisian players are now capable of applying certain complex instructions of their coach without breaking their heads to understand them. “You just have to play with your teammates, to see what they do, what we have to do. We have places on the ground where there must always be someone. And if there is no one, you can be the closest person to play this role. (…) At first, it's a little weird because sometimes you are close to the ball and you give a pass line, but it's not for you, so you have to get away from it and find another space. In the end, it's nice because you play in relation to your teammates. (…) Sometimes we score a goal, but you are not involved in order. There may be five passes before the goal and you play none, but if you do not do what you are supposed to do, it does not happen. Sometimes supporters see a goal and do not see your involvement, but you have an important role to play for this purpose. »» Two years after his arrival Porte d'Auteuil, Luis Enrique managed to transform a flashy PSG with clay feet into a real collective war machine. It remains to be seen if he will finally realize QSI's dream, namely to win this long -awaited Champions League.
