It’s the main event! I just got back home after an amazing trip to Paris to cover the first leg of the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea FC. A completely sold out Parc Des Princes did not fail to deliver everything I had hoped for in a top European clash. From the roar of the crowd to the football on display it was an unforgettable trip.
Going into the match I had a feeling that PSG might be able to sneak by and that proved to be right. Leonardo, PSG’s former sporting director, has done an incredible job in two summers. He has created a squad that is not only world class in it’s starting eleven but has an incredible amount of depth. When you can substitute Ibrahimovic by moving Cavani into center forward, life … as a coach is pretty good. With AC Milan having fallen from grace you can almost say PSG is their replacement. Built by Leonardo, a former Milan man. Filled with players poached from Italian teams, among them AC Milan. And coached by a man who has his fair share of experience playing in Italy.
On the other side you have a Mourinho who is not at his best. Within a week he might have lost his chances at both the Premiere League and the Champions League. Lamenting his lack of options in attack, and yet selling one of Chelsea best attacking players to a direct rival. In Italy they have a saying la minestra riscaldata non è mai buona which translates to a reheated soup is never good. A saying used to signify that things are never as good the second time around. That just might end up being the case for Mourinho’s second tenure at Chelsea.
I will be surprised if he can turn this around. On Monday I make the trip to London and on Tuesday I will at Stamford Bridge to find out first hand. As always these images and more available via Pic-Agency.
