Nicolas Anelka, formerly of Paris Saint-Germain, was the guest on RMC’s Stephen Brunch. He spoke of the Parisian situation, which he does not see as problematic, and pointed to a rebuilding process that may take some time. In his opinion, we need to be patient.
Anelka “It’s a reconstruction”.
“I’m not worried about the future. They’re top of the league and unbeaten, aren’t they? Nothing’s changed, in fact: they’re flying high in Ligue 1, as usual. They’re still struggling a bit in the Champions League. It’s a reconstruction.“
Anelka: “There are no more stars. They’re gone”.
“There are no more stars. They’ve all gone. Now you have players who are very good for Ligue 1, but who don’t yet have the experience for the Champions League, and that takes time. Paris will be in the top 24, but you need to be patient. Soccer is all about patience. Luis Enrique, you want to fire him, but to take who exactly?”
It’s good to have a counterweight to the constant bashing of PSG. As is so often the case, we can sense that some people are gargling over the fact that PSG are in trouble. What’s more, many of them only reveal their analysis through the prism of results. Anelka knows soccer well, and his voice can be heard.
The sport demands patience, and there are many examples of this. We could mention Aimée Jacquet before the 1998 World Cup, Jurgen Klopp with Liverpool, Pep Guardiola with City (where he undertook a global transformation of the club) and we could find others.
The problem is that giving PSG time doesn’t sell papers, you need a story, and in this area, the media have understood that making PSG a target is the best option.
Everyone knows how to go about it, everyone gives Santa Claus his little list for the mercato and hammers out his drastic solutions (firing Luis Enrique and Luis Campos). Anelka has understood that PSG, which is ill in the Champions League, is still in the infancy of its project, still bruised by the star policy that has fatally failed.
Of course, the less relevant will point out that Liverpool’s new coach has made Liverpool even stronger, that Ansi Flick has restored Barcelona’s reputation and that in one season, they’ve done better than Luis Enrique. Let’s put the caveats to that.
Firstly, there’s no guarantee that at the end of the season, these two clubs will still be at the top (and Barça is going through a difficult period in La Liga). Secondly, neither Barcelona nor Liverpool have undertaken a 180° turnaround, but are continuing in the same vein. This is not the case for Luis Enrique, who has made a major impact.
