THE WORST kept secret in European football became reality as Mauricio Pochettino took the plunge and joined Paris Saint-Germain on an 18-month contract. Why 18 months (with an option for a further year), you might ask, is there not enough confidence in the deal to give the former Tottenham manager a longer-term contract? Let’s face […]
Tag: France
UEFA Champions League: Are Bayern ready to step aside for new money?
IT MAY be a clash of the titans, but Paris Saint-Germain go into their first UEFA Champions League final on August 23 as the underdogs, a role they are relatively unaccustomed to, such has been their dominance of French football. Bayern Munich, meanwhile, judging by their form in the competition and in post-lockdown Germany, are […]
PSG and Neymar reach out for their holy grail
FOR RB LEIPZIG it was probably a semi-final too soon, for Paris Saint-Germain, the accumulated experience of a series of setbacks and slip-ups finally came good. Now only Lyon or Bayern Munich stand in their way of achieving what Qatar Sports Investments have strived for all along, the biggest prize in European football. There were […]
Paris Saint-Germain and Tuchel – is their time about to come?
IF Paris Saint-Germain were not such a cast-iron certainty for the Ligue 1 title, then the French football authorities might not have been so hasty to call time on the 2019-20 season. Actually, PSG were “only” 12 points ahead, so in theory, somebody could have caught them in the last 10 games, but it is […]
Saint-Etienne in the 1970s – painting the town Vert
BEFORE PSG got rich and threatened to join the uber-clubs of Europe, French football had only spasmodically made an impact on the big stages. True, Stade de Reims reached a couple of European Cup finals in the nascent years of the European Cup, and Marseille won the competition in the 1990s, but the team that […]
Now may be the time for PSG to repay the backers
WHAT will motivate Paris Saint-Germain when they get tired of winning domestic trophies at a canter? And despite their huge wage bill, growing revenue base and ability to snare any player they choose, how can PSG become more competitive where it really matters – in European competition? Given the amount of cash their owners have […]
The Champions League and the preservation of elitism
SINCE THE European Cup was introduced in 1955, there have been 22 different winners of the competition. This list includes some of Europe’s biggest names as well as some unlikely champions. The last “new” winner was Chelsea in 2012, and equally telling, the last team from outside the accepted top 20 most powerful clubs was […]
Saint-Etienne in the 1970s – painting the town Vert
BEFORE PSG got rich and threatened to join the uber-clubs of Europe, French football had only spasmodically made an impact on the big stages. True, Stade de Reims reached a couple of European Cup finals in the nascent years of the European Cup, and Marseille won the competition in the 1990s, but the team that […]
European attendances – symptomatic of a superficial age
FREE MOVEMENT of people is one of the basic rights across the European Union, allowing cross-border travel and employment opportunities. It has many benefits, some of which will become apparent to the United Kingdom’s population when the country does stumble uncomfortably out of the EU. While this has opened-up the world, or at least part […]