“They fell from the clouds.” “They fell from the pedestal.” The headlines, respectively from the sites of the Le Monde and L’Equipe newspapers, give an idea of the tone of the French press after the defeat of Paris Saint-Germain to Botafogo, Thursday (19), in Pasadena, by the Club World Cup.
The result was treated by the local press as an understandable stumbling block, in part because five holders were out of line -up – fits by coach Luis Enrique and one, striker Dembélé, for injury to the thigh – part of the time of the calendar, when the European team would normally be on vacation.
The discipline and physical preparation of the opponent were praised. L’Equipe has qualified the Rio team as “willful and fighting”. “Igor Jesus hardly will spend a long time in Botafogo,” wrote the same newspaper, apparently not knowing that the striker is already negotiated with England’s Nottingham Forest.
In the TV show “L’Equipe de Choc”, a video of Botafoguenses was shown celebrating on Copacabana beach. “Is this defeat a stain?” Asked presenter Giovanni Castaldi. “No, at all, but it shows that you need to have a reserve bank,” said commentator Pierre Bouby.
“They are human. At some point it is necessary to relax, because there was the pressure [da Champions League]”, Opins A Analista Maryse Ewanjée-Épée.
For Le Monde, PSG “showed a little self -sufficiency.” He criticized in particular the young Desiré Doué, 20, sensation in winning the Champions League. For the newspaper, Doué “tried several spectacular plays, but most often useless.”
The day before, L’Equipe had commented that the mood in the hotel where PSG is staying, in front of the sophisticated Newport Beach, is “holiday camp.” On social networks, three players, João Neves, Lucas Hernández and Wayne Zaïre-Eeméry published photos eating Mexican tacos and riding a bike on the boardwalk.
Brazilian defender Marquinhos, according to L’Equipe, went to the bowling with his wife and children. Other players fulfilled commitments with sponsors. “Let’s go to the mall, the beach, we can play PlayStation and pool together,” said goalkeeper Donnarumma in one of the press interviews.
The unfavorable time zone – the match began at 3 am from Paris – slightly reduced the impact of defeat on the French media. The PSG debut in the tournament, with 4-0 defeats about Atletico Madrid, had passed prime time and was seen by 3.8 million viewers on the open channel TF1, an excellent audience. The Champions League final against Internazionale of Milan was seen by 11.8 million.
The defeat to Botafogo was also broadcast free of charge, but by the Dazn subscription channel, less known in France.
The French stressed the Botafogo controller’s bond, the American John Texor, with French football-he is also a majority shareholder of Lyon. Le Monde called this week the Botafogo “Brazilian Laboratory” of Textor, where he would supposedly test players for the European market.
Over the past season, Textor had friction with Paris Saint-Germain President, the Qatarian Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, whom he accuses of conflict of interest –al-khelaïfi is both the French League and the Bein channel, which broadcast this year’s French Championship.
In February, Textor called Al-Khelaïfi a “tyrant”. It was, in turn, treated as “cowboy” by the PSG leader. Recently, however, the two adopted a conciliatory tone.
