Paris Saint-Germain’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic at a pre-match press conference in Paris yesterday, on the eve of his side’s Champions League quarter-final match against Chelsea. (AFP)
DPA/Berlin
Paris St Germain seem set for a new era of dominance in the French domestic league but the hundreds of millions invested in the club from Qatar is with a greater prize in mind.
The annals of French football history are defined by great teams but until now PSG have not been one of them. Lyon won seven consecutive titles from 2002-2008, Marseille claimed four from 1989-1992—in addition to a controversial European Cup—and in the 1960s and 1970s it was the Greens of St Etienne who were the dominant force.
Indeed, PSG’s championship last season was only the third in their history, a number which puts them on the same level as Le Havre, and still behind long forgotten names such as Roubaix and Standard Athletic Club, who won four each in the distant past. That will change this season—PSG are 13 points clear of second-placed Monaco and with seven matches remaining another championship seems a formality.
But tonight’s Champions League quarter-final with Chelsea in Paris provides an opportunity to prove PSG are now a serious contender in Europe’s premier tournament.
“Football is not an exact science. The club’s ambition is to win the competition one day,” said coach Laurent Blanc before the draw was made. “The owners have given the club the means by buying great players. The ambition is to win the UEFA Champions League.”
The squad is stacked with quality. Defenders Alex and Maxwell, and midfielders Thiago Motta, Javier Pastore and Jeremy Menez are just some of those who would be comfortable in any of Europe’s top sides.
But it is up front that the team really comes into its own. There is scarcely another location in Europe where the Uruguayan duo of Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi would be relegated to supporting roles as in Paris.
That they do so to such devastating effect is a tribute not only to their professionalism but that Zlatan Ibrahimovic operates on a truly different level—perhaps shared only by Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid and Lionel Messi of Barcelona.
“When you have a player of that level in the team, you come to depend upon him,” midfielder Marco Verratti told Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
“It’s like Lionel Messi at Barcelona. You can have other stars in the side, but he’s the cherry on the cake. If I give him the ball, I know he’s going to do something special that will change the game. Playing with him is a joy.”
Ibrahimovic’s goal and assist statistics in the French league are predictably impressive but his Champions League record of 10 goals in seven games this year shows he is more than a mere flat track bully.
With the greatest respect to his native Sweden, with his national side unlikely to win a major tournament, it is with PSG Ibrahimovic can hope to compete for elite honours.
Chelsea are the next obstacle in that bid and a genuine test to the true return the Qatar Sports Investment can expect for its money.
Chelsea will be without Samuel Eto’o after the striker failed to recover from a hamstring strain.
The Cameroon international was replaced shortly after scoring in his side’s 6-0 Premier League win over Arsenal 10 days ago and missed Saturday’s shock loss to Crystal Palace. Eto’o was not included in the 19-man squad which travelled to Paris, with Fernando Torres likely to play in his absence.
Midfielder Nemanja Matic and winger Mohamed Salah are ineligible, after joining Chelsea in the January transfer window, and left back Ashley Cole remains out with knee ligament damage.
The return leg in London is on April 8.
