Paris Saint-Germain faced Arsenal in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday evening. And after winning the first leg 0-1, it was the Parisians who prevailed 2-1 (PSG/Arsenal video highlights) to claim their second Champions League final. A historic moment for Parisian fans, who will see the Red and Blue take on Inter Milan in Munich. Paris captain Marquinhos spoke at length to Canal+ about this qualification and the transformation of Luis Enrique’s team:
Marquinhos: “The club deserved it all”.
How does it feel?
It’s a great feeling, I think the club deserved all this. We’ve done a great job and it’s been a tough road. It’s been a long road and we’ve had some very tough matches and some very tough encounters. Now that the emotion has died down, we have to make the most of it. We have to prepare ourselves in the best possible way.
We’ve done our job to get to the final, but it’s not over yet. We really want to go for this title and we want to take advantage of this qualification because it was very difficult. We want to prepare well for this final.
Have you been thinking about the disappointments, or is everything looking up for PSG now?
You think about it because of experience, and those are the scars in a player’s career. You always have to keep the positive side in mind, and I’ve had experiences that help me get the most out of the pitch, when the team’s doing well, when it’s running when it’s defending.
I try to pass on a good message to my team-mates, because some of them have only just arrived, maybe they don’t know how hard it is to get this far. To have this mentality, this DNA, it’s very difficult. I’m happy to be here, there are others who haven’t been able to make the most of this moment and I’m still here. I’m making the most of it.
Do you really share this desire to go all the way together?
Yes, we’re working step by step, and our ambition is to go far, but we’ve come here step by step. Now we’re in the final and we need to prepare ourselves in the best possible way. I’m going to try and pass on that emotion to my team-mates. Nothing’s changed, we’re going to work in the same way, we’re going to keep on working.
“I can say that the team is ready”.
What has changed between the PSG at the start of the Champions League campaign and this PSG tonight?
The coach came step by step to improve this team, and when he arrived he saw that there were a lot of things to improve. There was a DNA to change, a mentality to put in place. I don’t think it happened overnight, but little by little he improved what was needed. There have been games that have given us a lot of confidence.
Manchester City and Liverpool were games that gave us confidence and confirmed our hard work. Because last year we were working hard, but we weren’t getting the results, we weren’t converting our chances. This year everything’s going in the right direction and that’s confirmed us, and the coach is only helping us to improve.
Do you think you have a better chance of winning today than you did back then, with the individuals?
I can say that the team is ready. We’re ready for what’s going to happen in the match. We’ve worked hard to get to this point in terms of mentality and DNA. We’ve had every possible emotion in this competition. It’s reassuring to know that everyone’s going to make the effort.
The coach is very insistent and it’s very difficult to play as a striker in this team, or even as a defender, because you have to put in a lot of effort. That’s what he’s asking for, and when you play as a team like that, you build up your confidence. After that, it’s a question of hard work and the quality of the players.
