Marquinhos addressed the press before Paris Saint-Germain faced Chelsea in the Club World Cup final. The captain has seen his group go to heights never seen in the French capital and is confident in his teammates. Yet, professional pride humbles him, and he expects that PSG “will face tension.”
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‘It’s the best team I’ve played for’
Marquinhos made clear how the side set their eyes on winning the Club World Cup from the outset.
“We put it in our heads from the first day, and it was a competition that we really enjoyed playing against opponents who were not used to it. It's different from the Champions League and I think that there is really an important value for us and to go for this title and win this title. This will really be a perfect season very difficult to reproduce and so that's this opportunity it is very important for us.”
Spending a month in the USA has been a unique experience: training camps for similar lengths of time do not involve fixtures with the same meaning. But it has done the group good to be together.
“We had a really great month together. We were able to do some family outings, some outings with friends. The time outside, it allowed us to have this freshness, to have this liveliness, to have the right mentality and everything was perfect. I think a competition like this for a month together and it gives us a lot of experience. It brings back a lot of memories for us for our group. I think this was good.”
Luis Enrique has been in the dugout for two seasons. Gradually, he has seen the style become more fluid, and the captain commented on how the players have got a greater understanding of his orders.
“We understand more and more what the coach asks of us, what the philosophy of the games is, and I think that's why we have reached this level because we understood what the coach wanted, what the philosophy he wanted to implement. We all understand each other well, but I think that for the past few months we've really been at a very high level of football, understanding the game and moment.”
The Brazilian, who has been at the club since 2013, has seen many egos come and go from the French capital. The unity in the camp and the teamwork on the field make this group stand out from others.
“It’s definitely the best team I've played for, right, here at Paris Saint-Germain. But I've played with incredible players who made history in football, with players who are perhaps renowned, with titles, who are even ahead of many players who are here. Maybe collectively, the idea of philosophy, the moment, we managed to get the results. This is why this is the team that has achieved its objectives.”
Fabian Ruiz has stood out in the middle of the park as one of the first three choice midfielders for PSG. He quietly gets on with business, and his humble personality translates to affairs off the field.
“Off the pitch, he's excellent too. Sometimes it's a bit strange because we've known the quality of the player since the first day he arrived. I had no doubts about him. Maybe people outside didn't really see his importance, his impact on the game, but he has a tactical understanding and an intelligence of play and understanding of spaces, of understanding movements very few players have in football.”
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‘Every match has its story’
The defender declared his joy at being the leader of the first team that won the Champions League final for PSG, having lost to Bayern Munich in 2020. It was the crowning accomplishment in the hunt for the treble, and the hunger for more major honours has increased tenfold for the player.
“The emotion I felt in winning a Champions League was an emotion I'd never felt before. I know how hard it is to win, how hard it is to stay at the top. The players who have already won, that's why I have so much admiration for them, because I know how hard it is to get there, win, and stay there. These players won many times and it's this hunger we will take as a lesson after this season. It isn't over.”
He trusts the rest of his teammates to muster up the intensity for one last triumphant performance.
“If you look at our game and analyse it, you look first at our attackers. You see the expression of Ousmane Dembele every time the goalkeeper has the ball at his feet. The other two attackers, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola, already coming and helping with that pressure too. The team is so compact, our midfield with the press. This is all a collective effort.”
Chelsea, who qualified for the tournament through their triumph in the 2021 Champions League final, have seen better days. The Blues might have earned the trophy in the Conference League final, but the top honours are still a distant ambition. However, there is not any room for complacency.
“Every match has its story. We mustn't fixate on ourselves and just because we won good matches, we played good matches. We mustn't fall into the traps spent in the match we played before. I say that every match has its story and this match against Chelsea in this final, it's going to be a match that will have its story too. It depends on what Chelsea will do on the pitch: we will see what will happen.”
The 31-year-old is well aware of a summer signing for the Blues, for whom he has already shone in this tournament. Joao Pedro played half an hour against Palmeiras in his debut before scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over Fluminense in the final four. This feat was not a surprise to his compatriot.
“I already knew him. I already knew about the quality he had today. Being on a team like Chelsea, he has the opportunity to show what he showed even more, right, because of the attention that Chelsea attracts, because of the cups he's playing in. So, it ends up clarifying even more his qualities. He is a great player with strength, but also with technique and speed of movement that is very interesting.”
The captain cannot wait for the challenge of battling against more top-end attackers on this stage.
“We’ll face tension. Like we did against Real Madrid, with Vinicius Junior, with Kylian Mbappe, the Bayern Munich game as well, we've been facing great attackers, great teams. I expect nothing less from my team: to respect them most, to have great respect for our opponent, and so much respect, yeah, giving our best on the field. We do that, regardless of who's playing, who is in front of us.”
