This Tuesday at 9:10pm (CET), Paris Saint-Germain (1st in Ligue 1) take on Dunkerque (5th in Ligue 2) at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France 2024-2025. In a press conference, Dunkerque coach Luis Castro spoke about the match and the Parisian opponent. His comments were full of praise, including the need to adapt.
Luis Castro “We’ve already played matches against Ligue 1 teams.”
How are the players?
Normal, they want to play like any other game. It’s a cup match, different from the championship. We’ve already played matches against Ligue 1 teams, so this isn’t the first.
The same preparation as usual?
We haven’t had much time to prepare, but it’s like any other cup game. We’re going to do what we always do, using video as much as possible. We’re trying to see how they play and what we can do with the way we play.
Luis Castro: “We’ve got our own identity and we’re going to do everything we can that way.
The same attacking approach as always?
Against all teams, you change little details. But we’ve got our identity and we’ll do our utmost with it. But you also have to look at what the other team is doing. Sometimes, even if we want to have the ball, we don’t have much of a chance, like against Lille. After that, teams change. We’ll try to do the best we can.
Is it risky to play high up the pitch?
It’s the best team I’ve ever played against. If you’re intelligent, you look at their strengths and weaknesses. There are a lot of strong points. The last time they lost away from home in France was in February 2023.
We also saw the match against Liverpool, the first in the Premier League. If we don’t adapt at all, we’re crazy. But you always have to adapt. Against Lille, Annecy, or whatever. After that, we have our own identity and we’ll do our best that way. You have to respect Paris and be intelligent.
Luis Castro “As people, they are two of the best in soccer.”
Did you have Ramos and Neves under your command at Benfica?
That’s very nice. As players, everyone knows them. Gonçalo Ramos is a goalscorer who doesn’t need many minutes to score. No matter what the competition. As people, they are two of the best in soccer. As people and professionals.
I’m not surprised by their evolution, I know them very well. When Gonçalo came down from the first team to play in the Youth League, he worked harder than all the others. Their personalities are clear. João Neves is always connected with the others.
Luis Castro “other teams have big individualities and don’t have the level of PSG.”
What do you think of Luis Enrique? Are you inspired by his philosophy?
If you look at his team, it says a lot about him as a coach. He’s capable of putting together a great team, and that’s the most important thing in soccer. There are a lot of things I like about him. At the moment, he’s one of the best in the world. The coach’s image is his team. There are some big individuals, all right. But other teams have big individualities and don’t have the level of PSG.
Do you feel a particular sense of excitement?
I can feel that the fans are with us, and I hope they’ll be there in Lille. We’ll need 12 of them. I hope that all this will create even more love for soccer in the city.
Does the Coupe de France bring in the championship?
No, not at all. Maybe the opposite (smile). There are more games to play, and you have to concentrate on another competition. We lost to Martigues before Lille and to Bastia before Paris, so it’s not just about that. But we need to grow too. It’s also habitual to be involved in several challenges at the same time, while always remaining focused.
Some of your players have played against PSG, does that help?
Yes, a number of players have experience, having played in the top divisions of several countries. They’re used to playing games like this. Not everyone before this season, but we played Lille and Brest, who were in the Champions League.
