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Champions League: “The hardest part begins for PSG,” warns Youri Djorkaeff

In 1996, Youri Djorkaeff (52) brandished the Cup of Cups in the sky over Brussels. The only European trophy for PSG. While Paris is playing the semi-final of the Champions League this Tuesday in Lisbon, the world champion is showing his optimism for the future of the Parisian club.

Are you surprised that the club had to wait a quarter of a century to replay a European Cup semi-final?

YOURI DJORKAEFF. Yes and no. It has been five seasons that PSG should have been in the last four. But before, PSG was not as competitive as it had been in the 1990s. After knowing if it is the year or never it is difficult to say. I imagine that Leipzig, Bayern and Lyon are saying the same thing.

How do you explain the beautiful course this season?

We feel that the lead of the 8th and quarterfinals has jumped. The one we felt from the month of January because PSG would play the start of the knockout phase. When the streets of the capital became unbreathable… You could feel it before Dortmund, there was an incredible tension. Maybe even playing the second leg behind closed doors allowed the players to release that pressure after a not-so-great game in Germany.

The convincing success in the return brought an end to this cycle of failures in the Champions League. It’s a relief for everyone, from the steward to the players, to the leaders. There was this realization that things had gone wrong (Editor’s note: on the way there) but to overcome them, it was necessary to surpass oneself and seek additional resources. But at this stage of the competition, we can no longer rest on what we have done before. We must throw ourselves headlong into the meetings.

Do you see a little extra soul in this group?

There is the experience that accumulates but also the will of the leaders of the team to seek this title which the club lacks. Without great leaders, you can’t have a great team. These are matches for boys like Neymar and Mbappé. We saw against Dortmund and Atalanta that the team was united and complete. We feel that they are good together. Neymar has gained further experience and maturity.

How the previous seasons have gone in Paris affected him. Sometimes he also extended the stick to get beaten. He had things to question. He did it. He is a great player, he is capable of making big differences in this type of match like Leo Messi Cristiano Ronaldo… or Mbappé.

Youri Djorkaeff won the Coupe des coupes in 1996 with PSG./Icon Sport / Eric Renard

What is the key to approaching these meetings at the top?

The hardest part begins for PSG. The 8th and the quarterfinals are always complicated but the risk of losing in the semifinals, so close to the goal, it is very difficult. The pressure is enormous, the stakes colossal. The last four is extraordinary, it is the concentrate of a footballer’s life over two matches.

Paris are favorites against Leipzig. What trap should PSG avoid?

It would be to foil against this team. She has qualities. If she is halfway it is because she deserved it. It’s been a while since we saw her grow. She plays very good football with a lot of quick throws forward. Defensively, it’s a difficult block to maneuver. It perhaps resembles what Paris may have encountered with Atalanta, but with more rigor. It would be good if PSG did not wait until the 90th minute to score their first goal …

You won the only PSG European Cup in 1996. Are you looking forward to having successors? Yes. In France, it is only Marseille that won the Champions League and PSG the Cup. It is an anomaly. It is not normal that with our large hexagonal clubs, our track record is not more extensive. We played finals that we haven’t won often. I lost one with Monaco, won another with Paris. Perhaps at one point, the French clubs took the European Cup as a reward but not with the necessary investment to have ambitions there.

The qualifications of Lyon and PSG in the semi-finals are a little revenge. This shows the quality of the championship which deserves to be part of a real “big five”. We are robbed of a place in the Champions League. This shows that we must review certain things.

Champions League:

Does this meeting keep a bitter taste due to the absence of an audience?

It is terrible for everyone. I would like to be in Lisbon to see PSG and Lyon play as I would have liked to be at the Parc on the return trip against Dortmund or in Turin when Lyon qualify. When you are supporters, you want to experience these emotions. I am however pleasantly surprised at the level. The quarter-finals were of exceptional quality. Ditto in the Europa League where the intensity is also very important. We must congratulate the players because it is not easy to invest so much in these conditions.

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