Champions League: "When PSG wins, it's all Paris that wins", rejoices Hidalgo

She will be there. This Sunday, it is at the Luz stadium in Lisbon that Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, will attend the final of the Champions League between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. A team that she fervently supports, as she tells us by phone this Friday, on a break on a motorway rest area on the way back from her vacation.

Where will you be on Sunday night for the final?

ANNE HIDALGO. I will have the chance to be in Lisbon, at the invitation of PSG. As I have often done when the team has played abroad, in Manchester, Liverpool, Barcelona, ​​or Madrid, I will always be there to support PSG. I am a very committed supporter and I love football.

Do you like soccer, really?

I am a football fan! My father was and he passed his taste on to his two daughters. With my sister and my parents, when we lived in Lyon, we were going to support OL on Sunday at the Gerland stadium. With my sister, when I was 15, we even tried to start a women's team, but we didn't succeed. We fell back on volleyball by setting up a women's section in the club where we played. This love for football has remained with me.

Which supporter are you?

Very demonstrative! For the semi-final that I saw in the Landes on TV, I was screaming and jumping in the living room with my family and friends.

How long have you been following PSG?

Since I arrived in Paris, at the age of 24 or 25. Marrying this city necessarily implied being a support of his club. Long before being elected, I went to the Parc des Princes to see them play. And since 2001, I go there very regularly. The PSG of thirty years ago was not that of today. There have been ups and downs and the club has been able to resolve the problems of violence that it has known.

How did the club manage to come back up?

For the PSG to give its best performances, it must feel fully Parisian, and on this point Nasser ( Editor's note: Al-Khelaïfi, president of PSG ) did a remarkable job. Against Dortmund ( Editor's note: in the round of 16 in March ) we said to ourselves: “This will be a good year”. The players are exceptional, it is a great pride to see them in the final. I really trust them.

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What is your first memory of PSG?

The cauldron atmosphere of the Parc des Princes! It must have been in 1985 or 1986. I love the atmosphere of the stadiums and particularly that of the Park.

Your current favorite players?

Mbappé obviously. I also really like Neymar, of course, Marquinhos, Marco Verratti, very endearing, or Thiago Silva, a very good captain. I don't know them all personally, but I admire in each one their talent, their energy and their ability to work together.

Before the current team, which PSG players have marked you?

David Luiz, very involved in the fight against AIDS in Brazil. I remember that barely arrived at the club, he came to Place de la République on December 1 for World AIDS Day. There is also Maxwell, a player who is both discreet and very classy. Or Zlatan Ibrahimovic, very strong, very funny and colorful. But the one who most embodied the spirit of the club before the current team, for me, is Blaise Matuidi. He was very active in working-class neighborhoods.

What place does PSG have today in the influence of Paris?

When PSG wins, all of Paris wins! We used to say that Paris is the second most famous brand in the world behind Coca-Cola. PSG are not far behind. It also conveys, again and again, the image of a popular sport that is close to my heart, not to mention the economic benefits.

The semi-final last Tuesday was marked by some excesses in Paris. Are you worried about safety this Sunday?

We are working in harmony on this subject with the police headquarters. We have to trust, accept that the joy is there, that all those who are proud and happy can manifest it as peacefully as possible and with respect for barrier gestures, of course.

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If PSG wins, what celebration do you envision with the constraints imposed by the Covid-19?

We are looking, with the police headquarters and the PSG club, above all for a framed celebration, at the Parc des Princes. And I also hope to be able to involve the Parisian children so that they can enjoy the victory if it takes place.

Your prognosis?

2-1 for us! It is an incredible challenge but it is within reach, even if Bayern are one of the best teams in the world.