The PSG of the individuals against the coral Leipzig

Just ten years ago, Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig they were very far from the European elite. A decade later, the ambitious Parisian project, which dreams of its first Champions League, and the unexpected German team will face off for a place in the final of the Champions League.

The first of the two Franco-German clashes in the semifinals of the top European competition – before Olympique de Lyon-Bayern Munich on Wednesday – will measure two relatively new projects that have called into question the hegemony of the big traditional clubs based on economic muscle, especially in the case of the French champion.

For the first time since 2005, neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo, winners of nine of the last 15 editions with their respective clubs, will be present in the Champions semi-finals. In the absence of Real Madrid, Milan, Liverpool or Barcelona, ​​only Bayern resists in the face of the emergence of the new European powers, embodied in Neymar’s PSG and in the Red Bull version of Leipzig.

Although the Parisian club has just celebrated its fiftieth anniversary and was already in the semifinals in 1995, it was after the arrival of the Qatari owners when it changed dimension. A time that coincides with the founding of Leipzig … in 2009. In the space of a decade, the club from the former East Germany went from the fifth category to the European elite thanks to the support of the multinational Red Bull and a sports policy focused on young talent detection. Proof of its thirst for recognition in front of the general public, the club gained the highest publicity visibility in the streets of the Portuguese capital before the start of the eighth final of the Champions League with the aim of making itself known to the general public.

Beyond the simple duel between two superlative ambitions, PSG-Leipzig will also be marked by several reunions between former teammates and former mentors. In addition to Chicken, left the PSG quarry and turned into one of the architects of Leipzig’s successful season, his coach, Julian Nagelsmann (33 years old), will try to show that he can surpass his old teacher, Thomas Tuchel (46 years old), the man who prompted him to be a coach at 20 years old.

Faced with the young coach, a supporter of unapologetic football, and who brought Simeone’s Atlético de Madrid to the knees last Thursday (2-1), the pressure of the result falls on Tuchel’s men, as indicated by the Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer: «Of course PSG is the favorite». Leipzig’s players “don’t have the pressure to win the Champions League or to reach the final,” acknowledged Ander Herrera. “That can be more dangerous for us because without that pressure one plays freer,” added the PSG Spanish midfielder.

But with the returns of Kylian Mbappé and Ángel di María, sanctioned against Atalanta, Thomas Tuchel finally has his entire offensive arsenal and will be able to choose the best formula to accompany Neymar. If Mbappé has already demonstrated his extreme importance in the Parisian game, Di María has a new opportunity to shine at the Estadio da Luz, the place where he showed his best football.

At Benfica, the Argentine left-hander marveled Lisbon fans for three seasons (2007-2010) at the stadium that will host the semifinal match. With Real Madrid, on the same pitch, he won his only Champions League in 2014 after a comeback against Atlético de Madrid in which ‘Fideo’ was one of the best of the match.

Di María’s magic will be necessary to alleviate the safe discharge of Keylor Navas and the probable of Idrissa Gueye. PSG had the experience of the Costa Rican goalkeeper, triple champion of the Champions League (2016, 2017, 2018) with Madrid. Now it is up to the goal yielded by Sevilla, Sergio Rico, to follow in the footsteps of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting as an unexpected new hero. The dream of PSG rests on his shoulders.