It is a curious paradox unfolding in Paris. On one hand, PSG have strolled to yet another Ligue 1 title with the kind of languid inevitability that bo...
It is a curious paradox unfolding in Paris. On one hand, PSG have strolled to yet another Ligue 1 title with the kind of languid inevitability that borders on boredom. On the other, their Champions League campaign has been a masterclass in chaotic, unshackled brilliance. The difference, as Luis Enrique admitted last week, is a matter of control. Or rather, a deliberate lack of it."Every year I have less and less control," he confessed, a remark that sounds like heresy from a manager whose domestic dominance has given him more sway than perhaps any PSG boss before him. But watch them in Europe. This is not the rigid, possession obsessed machine that rolls over low blocks in Lille or Montpellier. This is a team that embraces the mud. They invite pressure then hit you with transitional play that is breathtakingly quick. They accept moments of defensive disarray because they trust their attacking players to punish a single mistake. It's a tactical gamble, a high wire act for the Champions League knockout rounds, and it is working.The club's off pitch operation, however, is anything but chaotic. GoalZaza witnessed this first hand last Wednesday during the Uefa mandated media day. The club ran a tight ship. Journalists were packed into an upstairs room watching a stream of Enrique's press conference, while dozens more craned their necks to catch a rare glimpse of a full training session. It was a snapshot of a club that knows the spotlight is unavoidable and chooses to manage it with cold efficiency. They are saving the chaos for the pitch, and for the very biggest nights. The question now is simple. Can they keep walking that tightrope all the way to the final Because in Paris, Ligue 1 is merely the pre season. The real season starts when the whistle blows under the lights in Europe.
