Long demanded by many observers, the 3-4-3 finally takes root in Paris when it was no longer expected, in this long end of the season.
Everything comes at the right time to who knows how to wait… If he has long been resistant to it, Mauricio Pochettino has finally made his own the 3-4-3 that many have been asking for at the start of the season. A little to everyone’s surprise, the Argentine coach indeed took this card out of his game in Angers (0-3), on April 20. “From the start of the championship, we used this system with Danilo Pereira who slipped between the defenders“, he had corrected after this meeting, justifying his choice by certain”circumstances“, including the injury of Mauro Icardi during the warm-up. All while refusing to confirm that he envisaged this famous scheme as that of the future for PSG. It is however in this disposition that the Red and Blue started against Lens (1-1), the title match, and in Strasbourg (3-3).
And that’s probably how they will start again this Sunday, against Troyes, on behalf of the 36th day of the French championship. Even if “Poche” wanted to be secretive on Saturday. “We might change tomorrow (smile)“, he said, before specifying the underside of this change. “It was simple, we had the possibility to change. We struggled to find the time to work on making those changes earlier in the season. But it’s good to have several strings to our bow“Explained the 50-year-old Argentinian technician, who is also absent from the list of potential winners for the title of best coach in Ligue 1.
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It must be said that if he guided Paris Saint-Germain to his tenth title of champion of France, Pochettino never really seemed to be in control of events during the 2021-22 campaign. He often seemed to take the waves rather than ride them. “We are here to develop the ideas of PSG, not to develop our defined ideas“, he said to The Team in November, a little over a year after his appointment to succeed Thomas Tuchel, at the start of 2021. “It’s a system that takes work and time to set up, discipline too, like every game system you can work on. It’s a good time to try different things and see how it feels.“Explained the ex-trainer of Tottenham, refusing to give a first assessment of this experiment on Saturday, at a press conference. “I can’t say I’m happy or disappointed. It’s just an alternative right now, and I think it’s been good so far.“, he notes.
I think it puts some players in the best condition
Kylian Mbappé on the 3-4-3
Stupidly mathematical balance sheet? Two draws and a win. Not very conclusive, therefore. Except that the 3-4-3 is nonetheless interesting in many ways, as analyzed by Kylian Mbappé after obtaining the champion trophy, against Lens. His fifth in a personal capacity, four with Paris and one under the colors of AS Monaco. “It’s a question of organization and more a subject for the coach. Me, I adapt to all schemes, I can play in any scheme“, he said, he who is already evolving in this organization in the France team since the Euro last summer. And to continue:I think it puts some players in the best condition, but that’s a question for the coach.“In this case, the crack of Bondy, whose future is the main concern in Paris at the moment, probably thinks above all of the side, his great friend Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, who are clearly made for that. In a line of four behind, they are cramped, underutilized.
And the central defenders? If he has shown some signs of feverishness in recent weeks, Marquinhos is above all still groggy after the elimination in the knockout stages of the Champions League, against Real, he who had perhaps committed the worst match of his career in Madrid at the return (3-1). No particular concern for Presnel Kimpembe, even if we saw him limit in Strasbourg in the alignment. A question of adjustment. The 26-year-old titi had caught up afterwards.
Ramos finally at the rendezvous
Sergio Ramos, he is gaining power, whether he plays in a defense with three or four. Already, he is playing… Finally, the 36-year-old Spanish rock can continue. Here he is now freed from his repeated physical glitches. It was undoubtedly his prolonged absence that prompted Mauricio Pochettino to reject the 3-4-3 hypothesis for a long time… “The system will be the choice of the coach, according to his desires but also the opposing team. I am ready to adapt. At the end of last season, we played three behind at Real Madrid. It was also sometimes done in selection. I have the faculties to adapt to all game patternsSaid the Spanish international at the start of the season. We saw that on his last outings. A late to the taste of those who whistled at the Parc des Princes lately…
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The former owner of the Casa Blanca does not care: he sees himself “still play four or five years at the highest level before having another experience. I have two years of contract in Paris. We’ll try to do three and then we’ll see“, he recently dropped on Amazon Prime Video . To see if the Parisian leaders hear it that way, if they have enough confidence in his physique to imagine him leaving for a ride. If necessary, the 3-4-3 option would necessarily be attractive for the coach who will be in charge at the start of next season, whether it is Mauricio Pochettino … or another. Who else could be called Zinedine Zidane? This is a priori the number one objective of Qatari decision-makers. “Zidane might take on PSG. For the France team, you have to be free“, slipped the president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Noël Le Graët, at the turn of an interview granted to our comrades from The Team .
We must remain professional
Mauricio Pochettino
In the meantime, PSG intends to try to finish the season as best as possible. A season that seems endless since the elimination in C1… “Yesterday (Friday), we had a nice barbecue with everyone, it was a fantastic day, it’s good to share a very good time together. We are a real family at Camp des Loges“, recount “Few“. And to add:We must remain professional and prepare for the match against Troyes, present ourselves in our best light. We must end with a good feeling and also because it is our responsibility to prepare the players as best we can for their international matches.All excuses are good for this penultimate match at the Parc des Princes.
