One more season, it was Paris Saint-Germain who ruled the roost in Euyrope. With this victory against Arsenal, and after eliminating clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich earlier in their European journey, the capital club left no room for doubt: they are indeed the best club currently. Whether in terms of individuality, collective and management, no one can sit at the table of Parisians.
Obviously, since the conquest of this second European coronation, laudatory articles concerning Luis Enrique, Ousmane Dembélé, Vitinha, João Neves or Khvicha Kvaratskhelia have been pouring out from all over Europe. And that’s not all. For many, more than the individuals or the Spanish coach, the success of Paris Saint-Germain is based on a perfect management model, with decision-makers who knew how to question themselves and give all the cards in hand to Lucho so he can build an extremely competitive team.
Nasser is not forgotten
At a time when many big European clubs have to deal with ego problems in the squad, and others persist in stacking players without much sporting coherence, Paris Saint-Germain is seen as a model. “The parallel between Real Madrid and PSG which explains the reality of the two clubs: they (Real Madrid, Editor’s note) give power to the players and not to the coach”can we read on the website of the Cadena SERwhere we compare this sad Real Madrid to the all-powerful PSG. “Al-Khelaifi understood that recruiting superstars didn’t work. He changed things, he built a team that revolved around the coach and it worked. (…) It is essential that everyone knows that the one who makes the law is the coach, and that he is supported by the leaders, that’s why I want to highlight Al-Khelaifi”explained journalist Jorge Pulido.
“It’s a powerful combination of an ambitious club, with big financial backing, and a coach like Luis Enrique, who has experience and wants to play dynamic football”for his part launched former Arsenal player Matt Upson on the BBC. “Before Luis Enrique, PSG was the laughing stock of Europe. Clubs were rubbing their hands knocking on their doors to sell them player x or player y. They spent and spent and never brought anything home. Luis Enrique convinced the Qatari billionaires that they would take more pleasure in organizing the team according to management criteria than in throwing money out the window to complete a sticker album with stars »there goes Corriere Dello Sport. Who could have believed, two or three years ago, that PSG would one day be considered a management model!
