Mauricio Pochettino was smiling at the Loges camp this Sunday, January 2 for his first press conference in 2022. Accompanied by his loyal assistants Miguel d’Agostino and Jesus Perez, the coach drew a first assessment of his year at the head of PSG and mentioned the news, the recovery and the cases of Covid-19.
You have been at the head of PSG for a year. What have you learned as a coach?
MAURICIO POCHETTINO. We have lived a lot of things, a lot of experiences. It is lifelong learning. Especially in football, everything is faster. We have seen a lot of positive things, others more negative. We must use all these experiences to improve ourselves for the future.
Two training sessions at best, cases of Covid-19 … Isn’t the preparation too disrupted?
As I said before the break, there were different priorities. The first was first to cut, find our families following difficult months, disturbed by the Covid, an excessive intensity of matches. It was fundamental, for the players as for the staff. Everyone is back. Tomorrow there will be no excuse. The team will be competitive as it should be.
How is lionel Messi following his positive test?
We have been living with the virus for two years. We all know what to avoid, what to watch out for, even if we don’t have everything under control. Leo is in contact with the club’s medical service. When it is negative, it will come back to us. It is located in Argentina. From that point on, we’ll see if he can play.
What can we wish you for 2022?
First, health. For me, for all of you. It’s a bit cliché but it’s the most important thing for everyone and for the PSG family. And then everyone knows it: to win. We want to experience great things with this club, to take advantage of this profession in football. Nothing is a drama compared to what we have been experiencing for two years in the world. Football is not a drama. It remains entertainment.
Should we expect to see a lot of young players on the pitch?
As was the case in the last Coupe de France match, it is important to see them play for several minutes. It is important to have continuity for them in such a short period.
Kylian Mbappé is free. Is this a disturbing situation?
This might have been the case if we did not have the necessary maturity. Kylian has this maturity to face this situation. We hope he will be with us for many years to come. We hope that he will continue to have this very positive return, the same performances as in recent months.
You often speak of respect for the adversary. Vannes saw that your players will only have one or two training sessions before the match. Would you have given the same rest time if you had played once morest Monaco or Lyon?
The question ignores reality. There are priorities. The first thing is to trust the players. They respected the work given during the holidays. Respect depends on the attitude on the pitch tomorrow. The team will be competitive.
Can we expect a new physical preparation?
We have been here for a year. We arrived on January 2 to sign a contract, on January 3, we started training. We found a team following 10 or 11 days of rest. There were eleven or twelve injured. Today we are in a better situation. There is a Vannes match and then the shock in Lyon. To return to the previous question, PSG participates in many competitions. We have priorities. Last year, we played in Saint-Etienne with only two training sessions. After the Brest game, we will go to Qatar if all goes well. All the technical staff would like to have time to prepare. Our challenge is to give the team the best physical condition possible. We adapt to situations.
What does the Coupe de France represent?
For me, it’s like the FA Cup in England. I like this competition. It is the most exciting. It is the oldest. We have enormous respect for teams like Vannes. You can smell real football.
