Are PSG ready to conquer Europe?

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PSG are on course to break all sorts of records in Ligue 1 this season. They are flying high, scoring goals for fun and no other team in the French league can touch them. However it is their Champions League pedigree that has had people asking questions in recent years. Many said that it was only a matter of time until they win the coveted trophy but despite three consecutive quarter final appearances they have always looked well short of the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Fixtures against Barcelona seem to be a constant theme for PSG which does not bode well for any team attempting to progress. Their exits from the competition in both 2013 and 2015 came at the hands of the Catalan club. In the intervening year, 2014, PSG looked as if their time had come when they took a 3-1 advantage to Stamford Bridge but a last gasp Demba Ba goal saw Chelsea triumph 2-0 on the night. Revenge came in the next campaign however when they dumped Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea out in the last 16 only to then draw Barcelona in the next round.

A third encounter between London and Paris takes place when the competition returns later this year with PSG and Chelsea once again drawn together. Despite a small resurgence under Guus Hiddink, PSG should enter the tie as overwhelming favourites and this could be their best chance at breaking that quarter final barrier…well as long as they don’t get Barcelona again. PSG’s last European glory came in 1996 when they won the UEFA cup Winners cup and that seems like a distant memory for fans.

Recruitment at the Parc des Princes in recent years has been very strong, bringing world class talent such as Edison Cavani, David Luiz and Angel Di Maria to Paris to play alongside the existing crop of talent. Big money moves have seen PSG been branded as a buying club with unlimited financial backing which other teams in France cannot compete with. Qatar Sports Investors became majority shareholders in 2011 and then full shareholders a year later. Their takeover made PSG the richest club in France and one of the richest in the world.

The owners have very much tried to commercialise the club after looking at how clubs like Manchester United and Barcelona have spread across the world as a brand. The signing of one Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a fantastic signing in terms of quality but also as a sporting icon much like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. At this time Zlatan was considered third behind these two players and his name helped sell PSG as a brand across the world. There is also a strong core of Brazilian talent flowing through the team with Thiago Silva a constant figure in the team of the year.

PSG very much resemble Manchester City in their attempts to conquer football with the aid of Middle-Eastern investors. However like the Manchester City owners they will eventually not just be happy with domestic success and will demand progress and success in Europe too. With this season set to make it three consecutive Ligue 1 titles for the team, the owners will begin to take that as a given and the club, manager and players will be judged on their European campaign. Whether Laurent Blanc is the man to bring that is still to be answered. The Frenchman who replaced Carlo Ancelotti in 2013 has brought success to the club but you feel that PSG fits a famous name, maybe even Jose Mourinho could be tempted. The chance to add the French title to his list of honours could prove tempting.

If PSG are to get past Chelsea then they do face the possibility and then the inevitability of facing one of the top clubs in the rounds to come. But they can take confidence from the fact Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich does not appear to be the monster it once was in Europe, Real Madrid could be unstable under new management and PSG would like to consider themselves on a par with Juventus. That does leave of course their arch nemesis in recent years, Barcelona. If they can avoid the Spanish giants they have a real chance of progressing to the final. And if the two were to meet in the final then history will be on the French team’s side with no team ever successfully defending the trophy in the Champions League era.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Christophe Pelletier