In the final stretch before the Champions League final between PSG and Inter Milan, France in football is divided. Should we all support Paris, in the name of sporting patriotism? To this question that tenses, Robert Pirès provided a residential answer on Tuesday evening, after the jubilee of Djibril Cissé in Auxerre. “Yes, I understand the Marseille supporters. I played OM, do you forget? “, He launched, fully assuming the legitimacy of anti-PSG feelings in the south.
The former French international was not content to fly over the subject. For him, OM-PSG rivalry is rooted in the very fabric of French football.
“Imagine the opposite, OM in the final against Inter … Do you think the Parisians would be behind Zerbi?” I'm not sure “he continued. A way to underline the hypocrisy of certain speeches and to defend a certain football realism. “You have to do the share of things, be clever and understand the rivalry between clubs”, he insisted.
Unlike Basile Boli, a support displayed from PSG for this final, Pirès therefore clearly puts himself on the side of the Marseille camp. And its positioning could strengthen the fracture in the Olympian family. Where Boli invokes a duty to represent France, Pirès prefers to remain faithful to its Marseille roots. In Marseille, his remarks will be perceived as an act of loyalty. Where others, like Didier Deschamps, dodged the debate, Pirès speaks clear.
Pirès on PSG-Inter: “The Marseillais do not have to support Paris”
In full controversy around the support of the Marseillais at PSG, the release of Pirès will not fail to fuel the discussions. However, she has the merit of clarity. “I'm not saying they are right, I understand them“, He said, calling for respect for local sensitivities. By refusing to pretend, Pirès shows that football also remains a matter of identities and loyalties, far beyond the simple colors of a flag.
While the final is approaching, everyone camps on their positions. Boli's support at PSG is always experienced as betrayal by some. Pirès' frank response puts things flat. At a time when Paris dreams of a second European star, a large fringe of French football, and Marseille in mind, looks elsewhere. And without shame. For many, the love of the jersey is not negotiated, even under the varnish of national unity.
