Marquinhos, 31-year-old central defender and captain of Paris Saint-Germain, spoke to Sky Sport Italia on Wednesday ahead of the Champions League final against Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena on May 31 (CET). The Brazilian spoke of this big match with emotion and a certain determination.
Marquinhos “The journey has been long, sometimes beautiful and sometimes difficult.”
You’re the record holder for the number of matches you’ve played for PSG (483), and you’ve had many good and bad moments, including a lost Champions League final: what do you bring to this new Champions League final?
Motivation, emotion and everything I need to bring to win this final. It’s been a long journey, sometimes beautiful and sometimes difficult. I’ve experienced a lot here, played with a lot of players and champions, and even with some world legends.
Today, I have the opportunity to relive this important moment and I’m determined to do so. I’ll bring everything I’ve got to bring. I missed the chance to win the Champions League once and it was there in my hand, so I don’t want to do it again. I don’t want to do that again. I want to win and bring this trophy back to Paris and home, that would be the greatest thing for me.
You’re the only survivor of that final, but everything has changed: in 2020, there were no fans, this time it’ll be full; over there, you played in midfield, here, in defense…
I was young there (laughs).
Marquinhos “I’m in love with this team.”
Was the PSG of yesteryear stronger, or is the PSG of today stronger? Today, you may have fewer stars, but that’s what makes you strong:
It’s hard to say whether this PSG or that one is stronger. We have different and distinct ideas of how to play. That PSG was strong, I liked it a lot, we had a great season with a lot of emotion, even if the global context was a bit strange.
This PSG has an energy that makes us admire it for what it does on the pitch. I think that’s why people think this PSG is better. I’m in love with this team, with what we do on the pitch, with our efforts, with the work of my team-mates, with the way the coach prepares the matches and with the way we live in the dressing room.
For all these reasons, I really want us to finish the season by winning this title. Winning this title would be the most important thing in the world to put into practice all the work we’ve done so far. We’ve done everything we needed to do and everything we needed to do, now it’s up to us to make it happen and win this final.
Marquinhos “These are things that can’t be explained in soccer.”
As a defender, how did it feel to see Acerbi score a “striker’s” goal in the last minute?
“As a defender, I know how difficult it is to score, and I know the emotion of a goal like that. At that point in the match, there’s no tactical plan and nothing is prepared. It’s all about instinct and emotion, and that’s what drives you forward. The same thing happened to me a few years ago in the Champions League quarter-finals against Atalanta.
I went up front and scored a goal as a striker. These are things that can’t be explained in soccer, and that’s why we love the sport. For Inter, it was a really beautiful thing, for Barcelona less so, but for everyone watching the game, it was exciting”.
Marquinhos “We’ll have to play a great game collectively.”
You played against Lautaro Martinez in the national team and against Thuram in France when he was very young. Who’s the hardest to score against?
“They’re two great strikers, both top-class. I played against Lautaro in the national team and you can see he’s confident and in a great moment. I haven’t played against Thuram in recent years, but even when he was a kid, he did damage.
But all the strikers we’ve faced in the Champions League are very strong, we’ve worked hard to stop them scoring and we’ll have to do the same in the final. We’ll have to play a great game collectively.
When we defend collectively, press well and don’t give the opposing team a chance to think, it’s easier for us defenders to defend. We defenders need the help of the forwards and midfielders, and their help makes our job much easier.
