PARIS — Christophe
Galtier’s appointment as
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) coach confirms a change in
approach from the Qatar-owned club as they continue their search for elusive
Champions League glory, but there will be huge pressure on Mauricio
Pochettino’s successor.
اضافة اعلان
Galtier, 55,
becomes PSG’s seventh different manager since the Qatari takeover of 2011 as he
arrives on a two-year deal.
The new man in
the dugout has developed a reputation as an outstanding coach over the last decade
in France, enjoying eight years at
Saint-Etienne and four years at Lille
crowned with the Ligue 1 title in 2021.
However, he
lacks the international profile of Pochettino and other predecessors like
Thomas Tuchel and Carlo Ancelotti, or indeed Zinedine Zidane, who had also been
linked with the job.
Despite that,
Galtier appeared unfazed about the prospect of managing PSG’s squad of
superstars as he spoke on Tuesday.
“It is a
privilege to have a dressing room full of world-class players,” said Galtier, who
took Nice to fifth in Ligue 1 and the French Cup final last season.
Galtier said
there would “not be a revolution”, but his appointment comes after PSG
president
Nasser Al-Khelaifi outlined the new ap-proach in a recent interview
with newspaper Le Parisien.
“We don’t want
to be flashy anymore. No more bling-bling. No more of the shiny stuff,” he
said, after last year’s recruitment of Lionel Messi and other star names
including
Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma did not have the desired
impact.
Galtier, who
played briefly in China, based his success at Lille on a 4-4-2 system that
depended first and foremost on a solid defense, even if his side still played
exciting football going forward.
A similar
approach at Nice produced often turgid football, and he knows the expectations
will be very different with
Kylian Mbappe, Messi, and Neymar at PSG.
“I will adapt to
the players we have here,” he insisted.
“First things
first we need to win, but with the squad we have and the international
reputation of the club we also need to play good football.”
Galtier’s
arrival follows that of Luis Campos, appointed last month to replace sacked
sporting director Leonardo.
Ready to work with
Neymar
Campos, from Portugal, built the Monaco team that won the league in
2017 and the Lille side that Galtier led to the title last year.
Campos already
knew Mbappe from their time at Monaco and the latter’s decision to snub Real
Madrid and sign a new three-year contract is still easily the most important
deal that PSG will do this summer.
Galtier has
little
Champions League experience but he will be expected to build a team
around Mbappe that can win that competition after some near misses and
embarrassing failures over the last 11 years.
“He is one of
the best players in the world right now. We need all the brilliant individuals
to pull together. If that happens then PSG will be a great team and will have a
great season,” said Galtier.
PSG have already
made one summer signing in the shape of Portuguese midfielder Vitinha from
Porto, while Angel di Maria has left.
Then there is
Messi and Neymar, who reported for pre-season training on Tuesday.
The Brazilian
has been linked with a move away, but Galtier indicated he would like the
former Barcelona man to stay.
Read more Sports
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
