“This is a historic moment for the club, for us, for you the media”. It is a Nasser Al-Khelaïfi all smiles and not a little proud who appeared before the journalists on Wednesday. First press conference of the season for Paris Saint-Germain. Its purpose was to present the new Parisian coach, Luis Enrique, the man who must bring PSG into a “new era”, according to Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, always very inventive at this time of year when it comes to to make plans on the comet and to announce drastic changes… rarely followed by effects. This time, however, there is something concrete. Beyond the appointment of the former Barça coach in place of Christophe Galtier, the club invited the press to Poissy, in its new training center. That is what is “historic”.
“I hope you like it. I will read what you write on it. I have visited many in the world. We try to do something unique. It is one of the best training and training centers in the world. It’s a great investment. If someone asks me what is the best investment we have made here, it is this one, ”says the Qatari leader, who showed up… almost three hours late on Wednesday. Nothing to do with the search of his home. A plane delay and a family problem. “Sorry for the delay… It may have been done on purpose to allow you to visit the new training center,” he joked to the press.
A visit that allowed us to see what we could already imagine before setting foot there: it’s beautiful work. 74 hectares, 16 and a half pitches (including 3.5 for pros), accommodation, balneotherapy, catering… The total. Those who have experienced the shuttles to go from the prefabricated locker rooms to the Camp des Loges pitches have eyes that shine. It still smells new, fresh. Estimated overall cost? Between 250 and 300 M€. This is where Luis Enrique and his players will come to work from Monday, the day of the recovery. Eventually, women will join them there as well as young people from training and pre-training, the association, the foundation, judo and handball. A 5,000-seat stadium will also be built. There is everything to do well. “It’s a wonderful place. Comfortable but not luxurious, because that’s not the point. You have to win the matches by the sweat of your brow, so the conditions are good”, smiles “Lucho”, conquered. There is something. Paris Saint-Germain has pulled out all the stops and has given itself the means… to dream bigger.
“With this training center we hope to have many French players in the future, from Paris and its surroundings. That’s why I say this center is one of our best investments. At the last World Cup, the place from which the greatest number of players came was Paris and its region, 29 players. We have a lot of talent here, we must take advantage of it”, assures “NAK”, speaking to some media including AFP after the press conference and who was not mistaken by betting on Luis Enrique in this regard. “PSG has invested a lot in young people, who have a lot of chances. I trust young people. I don’t know them all. But I really want to see these players play, I invite them to have an excessive ambition because I love it and I like to give them a chance”, promises the 53-year-old Spanish coach, actually known for his appetite in this domain.
The other big change expected in 2023-24 in Paris is the game. “The offensive identity is non-negotiable”, loose Luis Enrique. It will change from Mauricio Pochettino and Christophe Galtier, his two predecessors… “New coach, new cycle, new way of playing. He is one of the best coaches in the world, not for what he has won, but his style of play, the one we want, offensive, feeling pleasure when we watch the team, ”ignites the Parisian president. And to add: “Why did you choose Luis Enrique? He’s one of the best in the world, he’s done an incredible job so far. His system of play, the way his teams played, attacking football. It’s great to have him with us. We have ambition, that of the game, the way my team is going to play football. I want to take advantage of it.”
And the Champions League in all of this, the results, the win? “Of course we will lose matches. But we have to work from the base, with the football we want to implement from the youth teams to the first team, that’s also why we have this beautiful training center, “says Nasser Al. -Khelaïfi. Bad tongues will say that it is indeed time to lay the foundations after 12 years of presidency…
Clearing Galtier, “respected by all” and a “fantastic” man according to him, after a “really difficult season with the World Cup” in the middle of the campaign, the Parisian president preventively promises that “this is not new era every time”, trying to get ahead of those who would accuse him of overselling the product. “But with Luis Enrique it is. I’m not going to talk about trophies but about how we’re going to play football,” he swears.
The substance and the form. Because Nasser Al-Khelaïfi changes gear with regard to the ambitions displayed in terms of C1. Turnaround already started last year to be honest. “I never said you had to win the Champions League with him. I made it very clear: what I want is to play good football. There are too many expectations around the Champions League. I ask you the question: how many clubs can win it, have invested, have worked to win it? It’s not just PSG, there are a lot of them. Of course we have ambition, 100%, but ambition with logic, we have plenty of time to work, the lights are green, we don’t care about immediate results. This is the new era of PSG. It changes. You the media, you put it in our head that we had to win the C1, but everyone wants to win, me too. But first we have to build the foundations.” We will forget that it was Nasser Al-Khelaïfi himself who spoke about it so often, from the beginning of the QSI era…
New tool, champagne football, controlled communication? On paper, the painting looks good. Add to that firmness with Kylian Mbappé and the Nasser Al-Khelaïfi/Luis Campos/Luis Enrique triumvirate who are already working “hand in hand”, according to the new Parisian coach, and you get a superb picture. It remains to be seen whether this beautiful image, these beautiful intentions, these beautiful speeches, will stand the test of time within this club married to instability. In club follower memory, the 2022-23 campaign will have been the worst in history in terms of controversy off the pitch, in addition to the poor performance on the field after the World Cup. The PSG vintage 2023-24 can therefore not do worse… But with Paris, you should never say never, neither one way nor the other. We are never safe from a surprise, even a good one. It would be enough to put the theory into practice.
