Thomas Tuchel’s chair did not wobble that evening. The Paris Saint-Germain coach was sitting on a large cool box and it looked almost cozy as he watched his team’s quarter-finals at the Estádio da Luz from the sidelines. On the other hand: Tuchel wore a splint over half his leg that was supposed to protect his broken metatarsus. He could only leave his cooler on crutches. And when the final minutes ran, you could see in the Dazn broadcast how Tuchel hit the cool box that had served him so faithfully.
But the action was not a frustration foul. Thomas Tuchel did this out of sheer relief. And the main reason for this relief was Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who came on in the closing stages. First, the former Mainz player initiated the 1: 1 in Paris against Atalanta Bergamo (90th), then he scored three minutes later. That Choupo-Moting where you – with all due respect – sometimes ask yourself how he will be in the same team as Neymar and Kylian Mbappé did it. But no one asks that after that night. For the first time in 25 years, PSG are back in the semi-finals of the premier class.
When the final whistle sounded, the team-mates pounced on the former Bundesliga player. Neymar squeezed him, Kylian Mbappé pulled him close. Investors from Qatar spent over 350 million euros in transfer fees for the two international strikers, and Choupo-Moting came to Paris from Stoke City in 2018, free of charge. (In his entire career, the 31-year-old has not yet cost a club a transfer).
Later there was also a hug with Thomas Tuchel, who was still standing in the vicinity of his cool box – and who is mainly responsible for the fact that the attacker is under contract with PSG. Coach and player still know each other from days together at Mainz 05. Choupo-Moting is strong at dribbling, good at headers, roubst in duels, fast – you can always use a player like that, Tuchel will have thought. Such a player is especially useful when things are going badly. And it went bad for PSG for a long time.
Only with the substitution of the most recently injured Mbappé (62nd minute) and Choupo-Moting in the 79th minute did the turnaround follow, and with the dramatic final minutes the Champions League final tournament in Lisbon has its first climax. In the run-up it was often said that the knockout mode could favor outsiders. The first quarter-finals between PSG and Atalanta only ran a few minutes, when both teams had already given up big chances (first Alejandro Gomez, then Neymar). And you no longer knew who was the outsider and who was the favorite in this duel.
The 98-goal club from Serie A played as cheeky as expected, as dangerous as feared. Later: As self-sacrificing as your legs would allow. At PSG it was a little different: Because of the Corona interruption and the strict measures taken by the French government against the virus, PSG had only come to Lisbon with two competitive games in their luggage (two cup finals, both won), a lucky bag – and that’s how it looked also from. No rhythm, hardly any combinations. “Not fit for the competition”, Thomas Tuchel called his team in advance. He should be right. Actually.
The story with the fax machine
For a long time it looked like the fairy tale of Bergamo, in the city so badly plagued by Covid-19, would continue. Mainz-born Mario Pašalić had put Atalanta in the lead, and PSG only knew how to get by with individual Neymar actions. Alone: The Brazilian superstar missed a number of opportunities. Investors from Qatar spent 222 million euros on him three years ago. Since then, he has missed every second game due to suspensions and injuries. His record is still moderate.
When Neymar came to Paris in 2017, the club was upside down. When Choupo-Moting moved to the French capital a year later, an explanation was needed.
“We have been looking for a replacement for Cavani for weeks. And the opportunity that has presented us is Maxim. He is a top level player,” said Tuchel about Choupo-Motting’s role in the team. The former Bundesliga striker was intended as a backup for Edinson Cavani, who has since passed from Paris. And Choupo-Moting played this role very solidly: his appearance against Atalanta was his 49th in the PSG jersey, many of them short appearances, he scored nine goals. Duty fulfilled.
Neymar receives an award – and passes the trophy on:
Choupo-Moting also left his mark in the Bundesliga, with 45 hits and 21 assists in 204 top division games for HSV, Mainz, Schalke and Nuremberg. Above all, the story with the defective fax machine got stuck: on January 31, 2011, the former HSV player faxed his new contract twelve minutes late to the DFL, the machine had gone on strike – and the planned move to 1. FC Köln burst. Choupo-Moting quickly became known in Paris because at the end of 2018, burglars got into his apartment twice within a few weeks.
Now the career of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has been enriched by a narrative, a sporting one. It is unclear whether it will be sufficient to extend his contract in Paris, which ends on August 31. But it was enough for the semi-finals. And that’s a lot.
