There are soccer teams in the world with money and luck. There are other soccer teams in the world with talent and passion. There are yet other teams in the world with all the stars lined up for them, and then there’s Paris Saint Germain. A perennial pick for fans who love to bet on soccer, year in and year out PSG has become one of the most important clubs in all of European football. Yet, while they have become almost unbeatable in their local Ligue 1 tournament, their UEFA Champions League efforts always seem to fall a bit short, not being able to win the tournament even after going into it as favorites year after year.
With a crazy signing season that has seen the Parisian side bring in players like Sergio Ramos and Georgino Wijnaldum, both former Champions League winners in order to try and finally win the most coveted club football prize in the world, what else does PSG need to do to finally lift the UCL title?
Bringing Proven Winners Is a Plus
PSG has made it to the UCL semis twice in the last two years, even making it all the way to the finals in the first of those two years in a losing effort against German giants Bayern Munich. That’s quite an accomplishment that many teams in Europe would like to have under their belts, but for PSG, this is almost becoming unbearable. A team who has made it a point to be seen as the top contenders in European football doesn’t like to be seen as an “almost there” team. So what did the Qatari backed team do? They went shopping.
Their first big splash came from signing former Real Madrid captain and living legend Sergio Ramos in a deal that will see him don the Parisians jersey until 2023. Bringing in a player like Ramos, who is a known fixture when it comes to knowing what it takes to win Champions League trophies is a definite plus, especially if he’s pitted next to goalkeeper and former Real Madrid keeper Keylor Navas, who alongside Ramos won three Champions League trophies before leaving for France. Alongside Ramos, PSG were able to sign Dutch international midfielder and Barcelona prospect Georgino Wijnaldum to further strengthen their midfield. Wijnaldum, who was a pivotal player in Liverpool, especially in their UCL title run a couple of years ago will come in perfectly playing alongside Verratti, Paredes and company making for a perfect mix of talent and force. Both, being very important traits to have if you want to win the UCL title.
Letting Pochettino Do What He Knows Best
While in a team like PSG the concept of win now is always a given when it comes to title competitions, that doesn’t necessarily mean that results will come right away. PSG though have one of the best young and up and coming coaches in all of football with Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino at the helm. Pochettino knows that he has his work cut out for him, especially after already knowing what he’s dealing with in Paris after substituting Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, but his offensive driven style of play should come in handy if given a full season to work in.
Pochettino needs to be able to transmit his leadership skills that made him a very respectable player on the field and one of the best coaches that Tottenham has ever had in order to be able to have PSG play some effective but still attractive football. Pochettino is a coach who is known for earning his players respect from the get-go and if that compromise can be passed onto the field, the results will most surely be very positive.
Mbappe and Neymar Need To Truly Shine
What good does it do for any team to have not one but two of the world’s best not only strikers but all around players if they don’t perform at the level that they are expected to? Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jr, PSG’s two biggest stars dazzle football fans day in and day out whether they’re playing for their respective national teams, France and Brazil, but still always end up having a hard time when push comes to shove for PSG.
Football is about legacies and legacies are built on wins, so if Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe wish to be taken into consideration as two of the true heirs to Messi’s and CR7’s thrones as the best footballers in the world, winning a UCL title with PSG would certainly work wonders for them.
