If PSG manages to win the title for the first time in its history Prime its victory is ready • The "exaggerated" celebrations after the victory over Leipzig show the amazing change in the social fabric
Two photos starred on social media after the Champions League semi-finals. In one, three Bayern players are seen resting on the bench indifferently after the 0: 3 win over Lyon, and in the other, all PSG players are seen enthusiastically celebrating in the locker room after the same result victory over RB Leipzig.
The two images presented the same situation, but a completely different response. As expected, the differences between the images have spawned a great many interpretations. Some have argued that there is a gap between Bayern's professionalism and the PSG festival, which is an example of the winning Bavarian approach that has not yet been assimilated into the team's prestigious project from the City of Lights. This is all true, especially the fact that for PSG this is the first final in history compared to Bayern's tenth, but in France they are sure that PSG's image has a much bigger and more important meaning. That not enthusiasm, festival and history are embedded in it - but mostly unity.
One has to go back to February to understand how significant today is a group, happy and united image of PSG. The team just then lost 2: 1 to Dortmund in the last eight of the Champions League, and in between they finished 4: 4 with Amien and defeated Bordeaux 3: 4. In those days the French champion was a puzzle whose parts do not connect, a collection of players who think mostly of themselves. Fans were furious that some of them were celebrating birthdays ostentatiously despite the team’s difficult period, and the horizon pointed to another season that would end in European disappointment.
PSG fans are celebrating after reaching the finals. Will it be tonight? // Photo: Reuters
The good of the whole first
The turning point reportedly came on February 25, at Marco Verratti's Italian restaurant near the Champs Elysees. All the players gathered there, without the professional staff, and decided it was time to take matters into their own hands. No more camps, the common good first. They announced that they would do anything to reach the final - and they did.
After all, even before Thomas Tuchel arrived, PSG had the tools. Many great players have passed through the Parc des Princes, but at no stage have they been able to focus their abilities on the lofty goal. This season, not necessarily thanks to the German coach, these great players have realized that there is a golden opportunity here. Neymar and Mbabane, as well as Di Maria, Icardi, Saravia and Marcinius, have internalized that the bizarre season that has fallen on them could end in the greatest title of all,
It just depends on them. The pictures that came out of the locker room after the semi-final may have seemed exaggerated and disproportionate - certainly in relation to Bayern's restraint - but this is what a cohesive bunch that has set a goal for itself, and stands by.