Present at Media Day, 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain left-back Nuno Mendes displayed a very calm demeanor ahead of the upcoming final. The Portuguese player emphasized his recovery, the team’s motivation, and the experience gained, while also acknowledging that the match will be very demanding.
Nuno Mendes: “Today I’m relaxed.”
“I feel good, I’ve rested! There are still 10 days to rest and do everything I need to do to be in top form. We’re motivated. It’s a source of pride to be in the final two times in a row. The team is in good shape. The mindset is at its peak. We know it’s going to be tough, it’s going to be a great match against a great team.
[…] They have several players who are also going to the World Cup, so they are top players. We’re going to try to be on our game from start to finish. It was tough last year.” It was the first time, so we were a little nervous. But today I’m calm.
Nuno Mendes’ comments primarily reflect a progression in his approach to the event. Where the experience of playing in a final could have created particular tension, the Parisian defender now seems to be managing the anticipation, rest, and pressure much better. This calmness is not overconfidence: he speaks of a motivated group, a high-strength mindset, but also of a difficult match against a very high-level opponent.
It is precisely this balance that emerges from his remarks. PSG can be pleased to see such an important player arrive with freshness and clarity, without resorting to the easy rhetoric of the overconfident favorite. At this stage, serenity is a strength, provided one remains focused on the demands of the moment.
For Nuno Mendes, this final therefore seems less like an unknown mountain than a summit to be climbed methodically. PSG will need that kind of maturity: confidence, yes, but above all not the deceptive comfort of those who think they have already understood the match before playing it.
