“I remember Rafa Nadal’s words when he said that the confrontation with Federer helped him improve,” he said disheveled and bearded in the Allianz Arena conference room yesterday afternoon. “I convey this to my players. We feel admiration for Bayern. This rival can motivate us to look for our best version, because at this point we will need to compete better than ever. Here the challenge is to overcome a team that plays sensationally.”
Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are on the way to erecting a monument, a reference for future generations of fans, coaches and footballers. Never have two such powerful teams faced each other with the simultaneous ambition of imposing themselves on the opponent by controlling the ball in such a resounding, so unappealable manner, through massive reciprocal attack. As if they both wanted to win 5-0 from the tenth minute. After the semifinal that will be decided this Wednesday in Munich (9:00 p.m., Movistar) it is unprecedented in the annals of the competition. This is confirmed by those responsible for Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern, and is evaluated by experts consulted in the technical secretariats of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Since the retirement of Alfredo Di Stéfano half a century ago, the duels that defined the European Cup era reproduced the same dynamic of action and reaction. Cruyff’s Ajax dominated and Inter and Juventus speculated; Beckenbauer’s Bayern managed and the others did what they could; Souness’ Liverpool commanded and Forest counterattacked; Sacchi’s Milan was devastating and Madrid was devastated… The scheme continued with Messi’s Barça, overwhelmingly hegemonic, and Madrid won its last Champions League after appealing to what the socio-media environment called a “miracle”, an exercise in survival rather than an arrogant attempt at domination. Nothing like the exchange of blows of the caliber exposed by Kane, Luis Díaz, Olise, Dembélé and Kvaratskhelia.
“I expect a match similar to the first leg,” said Luis Enrique, who envisions two avalanches of scoring chances. “Because we find that neither of us accepts that the other is better.” Vincent Kompany, Bayern’s coach, agreed: “Normally one of the two teams waits back and accepts that the opponent imposes its game. Nobody accepts this here.”
The Belgian coach laughed when a journalist asked him if his team had forgotten the art of defense. “The art of defense? I think,” he said. “If so many goals were scored it is because the margins of error are minimal. There are two ways to approach this. Either you attack with everything or you retreat with everything. Intermediate approaches do not work against this level of players. In Munich the fundamental message will not be to do the same: we must do even more!”
Thierry Henry was the first to criticize the 5-4 score in the first leg, which he attributed to the lack of “defensive structure.” Asked about this, a coach who works for the Premier League and prefers anonymity offers an unappealable argument: “In Paris, three goals were scored from set pieces and five from running plays. In none of the five goals from a play did the finisher manage to stay one-on-one with the goalkeeper. There was always at least one rival defender behind the ball.” And never on the ground. Not even Marquinhos beat Luis Díaz’s goal. The evidence points to situations of maximum difficulty. The goals were not scored because of defensive defects but because of the enormous virtues of the forwards. It is the lesson that the game leaves: whoever has the ball always plays with an advantage.
Any of the five goals from the first leg are eligible for the Puskas Award for goal of the year. Kvaratskhelia finishes the 1-1 chased by Stanisic who only grants him a small angle; in the 2-2 Marquinhos and Pacho, the best pair of defenders in Europe, close all the possible gaps for Olise, who can only launch a projectile into the meter defended by Safonov, the PSG goalkeeper, which he does with enormous violence; at 4-2 Kvaratskhelia beats the retreat of Tah, Paulisic Upamecano and Stanisic thanks to a prodigious volley; At 5-2 Dembélé can only finish between the legs of Upamecano, who majestically closes him down; and the 5-4 is the product of the trance of Luis Díaz, an enlightened forward against a Marquinhos who does not stop putting up barriers.
“Kvaratskhelia’s 4-2 explains many things about a well-organized defense,” says the Premier coach, who remembers that Kompany, who was one of the best center backs in the world, if he is characterized by something, it is because he knows how to organize a defensive line. “The 4-2 play is identical to Lookman’s 2-1 play against Barça in the Champions League. In Paris Vitinha plays Griezmann, and Hakimi plays Llorente. What’s the difference? That when Hakimi puts the ball in, four Bayern players have already retreated: Tah, Paulisic Upamecano and Stanisic. While against Barça, when Llorente puts in the cross Lookman shoots into an empty goal.”
Audience record
Consulting companies such as McKinsey point out that the level of audience generated by the match has no equal in the history of the Champions League among casual followers, those who are not fans of either Bayern or PSG, the vast majority of fans, a mandatory index of image rights pricing. Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen is in luck: “We have gained more than five million new followers on social networks,” he told the Bavarian newspaper. South German newspaper. “Worldwide interest in Bayern, including in the United States, has reached a new dimension. This is also important for our partners and sponsors. The first leg in Paris broke all records for streaming”.
Thierry Henry despised the 5-4 show, calling it “street football.” In a way it was a return to origin. To the essence of the game that Pelé, Cruyff, Maradona and Messi turned into the most popular business that exists. Beyond the result, the kind of entertainment they want to see all over the planet. As Zaïre-Emery said yesterday: “The game that all footballers dream of playing since we were children.”
