At the Parc des Princes
Surprise at the end of the match between PSG and Sochaux. After a match whose main interest was above all to see in action the ghosts Abdou Diallo and Juan Bernat in action, and at the end of Thomas Tuchel's press conference, the club's communication suggested that Leonardo would come to his turn, speak to the media. Not at the stand, like the German coach before him. Not in front of the cameras. Not in front of the microphones. An informal press point.
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The few media present at the Parc des Princes on this hot summer evening therefore waited for the Brazilian sports director for a handful of minutes in a narrow vestibule. Here he landed, midnight blue suit, smiling ... behind his mask, coronavirus requires. And the ex-Brazilian international… got everyone inside the auditorium. Back to square one. Informal press point, perhaps, but all the same not in a corridor ... We once thought that "Leo" had even gone back on his original idea, and that he was going to speak more officially, in the podium. , but no. It is far from cameras and microphones that he wanted to address the press and get his message across. His messages.
Finally, he will speak at the top of the steps of the auditorium, in front of about twenty journalists, without filter, without barrier, without intervention of the press service, with humor and relaxation and for more than 20 minutes. It is not unusual. At least for Leonardo, because his predecessor, Antero Henrique, it will be remembered, had only a moderate taste for appearances in front of the media, off or not. But Leonardo is comfortable in the exercise. He always has been.
"There is a judgment that is too superficial"
LeonardoThe opportunity for him to preach the good word. In essence, Leonardo believes that the judgment that is made on PSG is "too superficial". He highlighted the results of the season, a fourth quadrupled in club history, and recalled that after a four-month hiatus, we should not demand miracles in terms of play, content. We remember that Tuchel got carried away on this subject last Friday, at the Stade de France ... "Impossible to analyze the situation without talking about the" context "", he explains, stressing not to feel a fierce will French football "to help" the clubs engaged in C1, so PSG, but also OL. He will cite haphazardly the stoppage of L1, the ban on resuming training before mid-June, the programming of the finals, the doping controls before the final of the Coupe de France, the referees who do not "protect" not enough players to his liking and… the “behavior” of the Stéphanois in Saint-Denis.
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Obviously, the Brazilian was not expecting a gift, from anyone, and obviously understands that it is also the virus that dictates its law. Nor is he looking for an excuse. Although ... In any case, he believes that there are many reasons to be "optimistic". Without playing the ostrich, while the pips accumulate, Leonardo emphasizes for example that the Parisian group is particularly united, more than ever. Then, "if we are not at 100%, we must find a way to win at 80". And to the grumpy people who regret the balance sheet, with a small goal in 210 minutes over the two finals, he replies: “We won't be sad if we score a goal in three matches and win the final on penalties, we will be champion too ”.
In Portugal from Saturday
For the rest, no question of projecting on the transfer window and the means that will be made available to it in this period of crisis, nor of saying too much about the starters (Cavani, Meunier, Kouassi, Aouchiche) or Thiago Silva, the future of Thomas Tuchel on the Parisian bench. Courteous but firm. It was neither the place nor the time. It is indeed time for C1. The Rouge et Bleu will take the road to Faro on Saturday. On Tuesday, they will reach Lisbon, where they will face Atalanta on Wednesday. "We arrive in a completely different situation from that of our opponents, apart from Lyon," he regrets, remembering that the Bergamo club were able to go to the end of their season in Serie A. In all cases, Paris will align "a competitive team". And in case of defeat, "nobody is going to die", he jokes, hammering that the results of the 2019-20 fiscal year "cannot be negative". But of course, this will not prevent his players from doing everything to win ...
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