Vitinha has just had an exceptional 2025, much like Paris Saint-Germain. That won’t change, and it’s something to savor. However, the 25-year-old PSG and Portugal midfielder told A Bola that he and his team face a particularly difficult challenge: maintaining this level of performance.
Vitinha: “The hardest part is yet to come.”
“The collective awards we’ve won and the fact that we’re already here, without getting carried away, make the hardest part even more apparent. Of course, I’m already here. And based on my experience—because I no longer consider myself young, but given my career path—I know that the most difficult thing is to maintain this level.”
Vitinha: “I don’t understand how they did it.” “
Given what I see and feel about our current level, maintaining it for so many years, like the football legends did… I don’t understand how they did it. It’s truly very difficult.
Year after year, being here, within a solid team, performing individually, always at this level… I will do everything to keep it that way. On and off the pitch, I will give everything to be at the top of my game, to help the team, and to maintain this individual record that I don’t want to break now.”
Indeed, the major difference between some excellent players and those who have made their mark on sporting history lies in consistency and longevity. We’ve already seen some teams shine for several months, then fall back. The same goes for individual players. How do we explain the gap? It’s particularly difficult because there are several factors.
It can be daily dedication, hard work in training, a bit of “luck” surrounding injuries, or a decisive play that hinges on almost nothing and changes the course of a career. Sometimes it’s the team around the player, their entourage… There are many factors that can make all the difference. Talent also plays a role, but it’s not everything.
Legends have that something extra, and that’s the challenge for PSG, as well as its players: to continue to be at the top. This doesn’t necessarily mean winning everything all the time; that’s practically impossible. But it does mean maintaining a consistently high level, both collectively and individually. We sense that coach Luis Enrique has set this mission; the high standards are often evident in his public statements and the players’ comments. We’re eager to see if Paris will succeed in this new challenge.
