This Wednesday at 9pm (CET) Paris Saint-Germain will face Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final (PSG won the first leg 5-4). In a press conference, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany spoke about the upcoming match and their Parisian opponent.
Kompany: “It’s hard to imagine either team changing what brought them here in the first place.”
A match as open as the first leg?
It always depends on the teams. If one decides to sit back and defend more, then there could be some quieter periods in the game. Otherwise, no. It’s hard to imagine either team changing what brought them here in the first place. We’re playing at home, we want to win, and we’ll do everything we can to do it.
A special atmosphere in the city?
Yes. There’s a good relationship between this team and the fans. At the start of the season, maybe not many people believed we’d still have a chance of reaching the final – but now that we’re here, we’ve experienced many special moments. And I think the fans believe we can do it. We want to make it an unforgettable moment.
Kompany: “You have to score one more goal than your opponent to win a match.”
Is conceding a lot of goals frustrating, or is it part of the style of play?
The mission is to win matches. We have ideas that we think will help us achieve that. That’s all there is to it. We’ve shown that we can win a lot of matches, and PSG has shown that too. Ultimately, you need to score one more goal than your opponent to win a match. If you can do that without conceding, that’s the best thing that can happen.
Preparing for penalty shootouts?
Of course, we have a list and an order for penalty takers. But we won’t force any player to take a penalty if they don’t want to or if they’re not feeling well. But this was already being discussed three months ago, before the Cup matches. It’s an integral part of every training session in the second half of the season, and therefore, it won’t be spontaneous tomorrow if we get to that point.
Kompany: “They’re a team we respect and one that’s very difficult to play against.”
Is PSG the toughest team you’ve faced in your coaching career?
I don’t like to rank things like that. They’ve been the strongest team in Europe in recent years; they’ve won the Champions League. Besides their quality and training, the team’s age also works in their favor.
They continue to improve; they’re constantly learning. They’re a team we respect and one that’s very difficult to play against. We think the same about ourselves, though, and that we can beat them tomorrow.
How do you choose the full-backs?
All three have shown they can compete at this level and are important. Of course, they have different profiles. Konrad brings intensity, runs, and aggression. Stanisic is clean on the ball and also quick; he always makes the right decisions with the ball.
Davies is extremely fast, has good one-on-one skills, and is left-footed, which sets him apart from the other two. We’re very happy to have them. We’ll see who starts tomorrow.
Kompany: “I don’t know if we should react to what people are saying about our playing philosophy.”
A philosophy that needs changing to qualify?
I don’t know if we should react to what people are saying about our playing philosophy. The mission is to win the match, that’s all that matters. We want to win this match. We have ideas on how to do it, and we’ve won a lot of matches, but so have PSG; they even won the Champions League last year (smiles).
I don’t want to talk about philosophy; for me, the objective is to win this match. We’ve won a lot of matches and titles, and so have PSG. The most important thing is to score one more goal than the opponent to win the match.
Kompany: “I’ll fall asleep easily.”
The most important match of your career?
I’ll fall asleep easily. Once I’ve done the work, the evening won’t be a problem. Energy for tomorrow and the game plan are what’s important. It’s probably the most important match of my career, but that doesn’t change how I approach all the other important matches I’ve already faced. The goal is to put in a complete performance and simply win the match. We just want to win, and any means are justified to achieve that.
