Luis Enrique, first! Inducted into his new role as PSG coach in early July, the 53-year-old Spanish technician appeared in front of journalists for his first match-eve press conference this Friday, at the Poissy training center. Paris will begin the defense of its title in L1 and its season on Saturday (9 p.m.), against Lorient. It was obviously a question of transfer window, with in particular the Mbappé file, but also the imminent arrival of Ousmane Dembélé. For the rest, the former Barça coach once again spoke of his taste for the beautiful game.
The Game Plan: “I’ve only been here a month, that’s why I’m here, to change that. We want to be competitive over 90, 95 or 100 minutes in each league or Coupe de France match in order to be ready for the Champions League. I don’t want to see a different team in the Champions League. I don’t want to only have 10-15 minutes at full intensity. I want 95 minutes of total football, of maximum intensity, of attacking play, in order to show the supporters that we are professional and that we want to give them pleasure. It will be very different from what we have seen in the past. From what I see so far, from what I feel, I think we will manage to have this rhythm. The players will obviously not be at 100% on Saturday, it’s only the first game of the season, but from what I see in training, the progress is already noticeable. We know that the first match will be complicated. We want to give pleasure to the supporters but Lorient will make it difficult for us, they are a very good team which beat us last season. We will try to manage this match in the best possible way. We want to be better from the first to the last minute.
His first weeks in Paris and at PSG: “The city of Paris seems very far to me, I haven’t even really been there yet (smile). I was at the Parc des Princes last week, it was amazing. I remembered it as an opposing player and coach. But in the end I didn’t do anything other than tour the club facilities and work here with the players. Of course, it’s exciting to start the championship tomorrow (Saturday), and to do it at home with our supporters, even if many of them are probably still on vacation. I expect a good atmosphere and I hope we play good football, give pleasure to the fans and win. That’s the point. For the rest, since I arrived, I take a lot of pleasure. I am very motivated to build this team with the aim of achieving our goals, winning trophies by working hard to improve the team.
The end of the transfer window: “We will do what it takes until the last day of the transfer window. We will continue to try to improve the team. We are in constant contact with Luis Campos and the president. It is our responsibility to study all the options that can allow us to improve the team at all positions until the last day. It’s difficult for all teams in this transfer window, not just us. Sometimes you have the opportunity to strengthen your team on the last day. We have to accept it and move on.”
Warren Zaire-Emery: “If he won his starting stripes during the preparation? Usually, I never give starters before the day of the meeting. We will reveal the starting 11 to the players tomorrow morning. But I can tell you that Warren is a player that I love. He is one of the best young talents of the moment. He is very intelligent, very good technically. In a club like PSG, we have to be attentive to opportunities to strengthen ourselves on the transfer market, but we also have to make sure that we keep our best young people. And Warren Zaire-Emery has everything to be a great player at Paris Saint-Germain.
The favorite PSG for the title of champion of France: “Yes, clearly. It is one of the best teams in the championship and we want to fight for all the trophies. PSG must be one of the favorites in all the competitions they play.
Adversary transitions: “We analyzed Ligue 1 and of course Lorient. All of my teams have dominated most matches by spending the majority of the time in the opposing half of the pitch and therefore closer to the opposing goal. We want to have a good progression of the ball. We must be well positioned on the field to avoid opposing transitions. The French teams are very good in this area. You have to be prepared for it. We have worked hard for a month on this offensive style and positioning in order to suffer as little as possible in transition. Afterwards, you can prepare well, but when it comes to football, you have to be ready for anything on the pitch.”
Statements taken at a press conference
