Taylor Gang ☔

🚨 Thierry Henry responds to claims that PSG’s success is down to the competition in French Ligue 1: “I heard somebody say PSG have an unfair advantage in Europe because Ligue 1 is so easy that Luis Enrique can rest his players whenever he wants. I was speaking to someone making that argument. He said, ‘Thierry, other clubs fight every weekend. PSG can rest five starters and still win.’ I asked, ‘So why didn’t it work for the PSG teams before this one?’ He said, ‘What do you mean?’ I told him, ‘Messi, Neymar, Mbappe. Before them, Ibrahimovic, Cavani, Di Maria, Thiago Silva, Verratti. Some of the best players in the world. They played in the same French league, didn’t they?’ He said, ‘Yes, but they were different teams.’ I said, ‘Exactly. That’s the point.’ Because I remember what people used to say. ‘PSG win Ligue 1 too easily. They don’t face enough pressure. Then they reach Europe and don’t know how to compete with the big boys.’ That was the argument for years. Now PSG have succeeded in Europe, and suddenly the same league that supposedly made them weak is the reason they’re strong. I asked him, ‘Which one is it? Does Ligue 1 prevent PSG from competing in Europe, or does it help them win?’ He said, ‘Luis Enrique can rotate.’ I said, ‘Of course he can. But resting a player doesn’t teach the replacement where to stand when the opposition presses you.’ I was discussing PSG with another analyst. He said, ‘They don’t look as frightening on paper as the Messi-Neymar-Mbappe team.’ I told him, ‘You’re looking at the names instead of what happens when they lose the ball.’ He asked, ‘What’s the difference?’ I said, ‘Watch the winger tracking back. Watch the midfielder covering the full-back. Watch how quickly they press together. You think that happens because somebody had Sunday off?’ He said, ‘So individual quality doesn’t matter?’ I told him, ‘Of course it matters. But eleven excellent players aren’t automatically an excellent team.’ And let’s respect the previous PSG sides. They reached the Champions League final in 2020 and made other deep runs. They had enormous talent but couldn’t finish the job. Luis Enrique didn’t arrive and discover a different Ligue 1. He had to build a different PSG. I can imagine an assistant telling him, ‘Mister, we’ve got a big European match. Shall we rest everybody this weekend?’ And Luis Enrique replying, ‘And the players coming in? Do they understand where to press? How to defend? What happens when we lose possession?’ Rotation only works when the replacements understand the system. Then the first guy said, ‘Surely PSG are fresher in April.’ I told him, ‘Maybe they do have an advantage managing minutes. I won’t deny that. But explain how being fresh wins you a tactical battle against Europe’s best.’ He said, ‘It helps.’ I said, ‘Yes, it helps. But you still have to defend, create chances, deal with pressure and beat whoever is in front of you. Nobody gives you the trophy because your players had more rest.’ Luis Enrique inherited those expectations but made the collective as important as the individuals. I asked my friend one last question. ‘If PSG had gone out in the quarter-finals, what would you be saying?’ He laughed. ‘Probably that Ligue 1 doesn’t prepare them.’ I said, ‘There you go. When PSG lose, the league is too weak to prepare them. When PSG win, the league is so weak it gives them an advantage. So when exactly are we going to talk about the football?’ You can criticise the competitive balance in France. That’s fair. But when PSG beat Europe’s elite, don’t pretend those teams lost because of the French league table. For years, people asked PSG to prove they were more than a collection of famous names. Now they’ve done it, and some people are still searching for a reason not to give them credit. Luis Enrique built a very good football team, and the rest of Europe has to deal with it.”