Without a doubt, Paris Saint-Germain has already fulfilled the great desire to surpass Mauricio Pochettino, and instead of the Argentine, Christophe Galtier arrived. The strategist has significant experience in Ligue 1, becoming champion with Lille in the 2020-21 season, then jumping to Nice, and now, he has become the wish of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, owner of the Parisian club.
Zinedine Zidane, Joachim Löw, Marcelo Gallardo, Antonio Conte, Thiago Motta, among others, sounded for the technical direction. However, the Qataris opted for Christophe Galtier. They see in the French strategist the possibility of achieving the greatest dream that Paris Saint-Germain and its leaders have, which is called the Champions League. The one they lost to Thomas Tuchel in 2020 against Bayern Munich, and which ultimately meant the departure of the German strategist.
Two years passed, and history repeated itself with Mauricio Pochettino failing to achieve the ultimate goal of winning the Uefa Champions League, eliminated prematurely in the round of 16. Real Madrid gave him a lesson at the Santiago Bernabéu that affected the bench, the dressing room and, without a doubt, the Qatari directors who fired the Argentine, and Leonardo from the sports management. If Christophe Galtier does not achieve this achievement, surely his continuity will be under review.
However, the strategist is already going strong with Paris Saint-Germain after the successful tour in Japan full of goals in his favor, he reached the competition. He faced his first official game on the Parisian bench against Nantes in the definition of the French Super Cup with a level that excites Lionel Andrés Messi, Neymar and Sergio Ramos who scored with a heel.
He has a team that will have no limits in this Ligue 1, Champions League and with figures at their best level such as Messi, Neymar, waiting for Kylian Mbappé and Sergio Ramos to compete as the undisputed starter in Christophe Galtier’s structure. What few know is that the new technical director, in his extensive career, coincided with a Colombian player when the footballer made the leap to Europe.
Christophe Galtier began his first steps in technical management as a technical assistant. He went through clubs like Marseille, Aris Thessaloniki, Bastia, Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates, Sochaux, Olympique de Lyon, Saint-Étienne, his last club as an assistant, but in 2005, he was at Portsmouth. There he was the second of Alain Perrin, strategist in possession. He was in England for just a few months, but he coincided with Jhon Viáfara.
Galtier paired well with Alain Perrin at Al Ain, Portsmouth and Sochaux. Perrin directed 21 games for the English while Jhon Viáfara was present in 14 games and scored a goal. Christophe and Alain bet on the Colombian, since he had just been the champion of the Copa Conmebol Libertadores. They paid 1.5 million pounds to have him.
He did not enjoy much ownership, beyond those 14 games, but they managed to save themselves from relegation. The story of Jhon Viáfara with Alain Perrin and Christophe Galtier did not last long. The Colombian also looked for an exit in 2006, and then returned to the Premier years later with Southampton. Jhon continues with his delicate situation in a prison in the United States.
