Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 133

133: To Face PSG

Paris Saint-Germain.

The full name is Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, and its nickname is PSG.

Founded in 1970 when two neighboring football clubs, Paris Football Club and Stade Saint-Germain, merged with the support of a considerable 20,000 fans, PSG won its first Ligue 1 [the top French professional football league] title in 1986 and then enjoyed its first golden age in the 1990s.

A second Ligue 1 title, seven domestic cup wins, and even the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup [a former European football club competition organized by UEFA].

After a period of decline in the 2000s, the club was acquired by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, instantly catapulting it into the ranks of the mega-rich.

Rising to become not only the wealthiest club in France but also one of the richest in the world, PSG began to acquire world-class players with the goal of creating a team capable of winning the UEFA Champions League.

As part of that plan, world-class players such as Zlatan Ibrahimović, Thiago Silva, David Beckham, David Luiz, Edinson Cavani, and renowned managers who dominated the European stage, including Carlo Ancelotti, joined the team.

However, the most shocking move was in the summer transfer market of 2017, when they paid a buyout clause of 220 million euros to bring Brazilian national team star Neymar from Barcelona, where he had formed part of the MSN trio [Messi, Suárez, Neymar] alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez.

And in the same summer transfer market, they signed Kylian Mbappé from AS Monaco, who was considered the future of the French national team and the next-generation player to potentially take over the Ballon d’Or [an annual football award presented by French news magazine L’Équipe] competition from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Then, in the summer transfer market of 2021, they further added world-class players such as Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan, Gianluigi Donnarumma from AC Milan, captain Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid, and Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool.

Finally, PSG, feeling like they were adding the finishing touch, signed Lionel Messi, who had no choice but to leave his beloved team Barcelona due to financial difficulties, completing a truly world-class squad.

However, with so many star players crowded into the same team, their performance on the European stage was underwhelming compared to their dominance in France.

Amidst a turbulent atmosphere of constantly firing managers and signing new players, new manager Christophe Galtier, who took office this season, was finally creating a sense of stability within the team.

The formation that PSG’s Christophe Galtier mainly uses is ostensibly a 4-3-3 formation.

Lionel Messi plays as a central striker but performs the role of a false nine [a center forward who drops deep into midfield], and when he drops back, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, positioned on the left and right flanks, penetrate the penalty box to act as strikers.

Since the forwards are very offensively inclined and relatively weak in defensive contribution or pressing, they emphasize employing combative players in the midfield who can firmly protect it.

The left and right fullbacks fill the gaps as the left and right wingers cut inside, pushing up to the front line.

In attacking situations, they adopt a roughly 2-3-1-4 formation, with up to four or five players joining the attack, while maintaining a stable formation that firmly protects the center and keeps two central defenders.

If the opposing team sits deep and focuses on defense, they can gradually send more midfielders forward to increase the number of players involved in the attack.

In fact, they have used this tactic in most Ligue 1 matches against defensively-minded teams, and thanks to the Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappé trio, who somehow create gaps no matter how many players the opposing team places in the penalty box, they have been able to finish the game with a victory.

So, Hyung-min and Burnley’s coaching staff decided not to do that.

“…The key to this tactic is Lionel Messi, who plays the role of 1 in attacking situations.”

The afternoon before the match.

The players gathered in the tactical meeting room of the Banfield Training Center were listening intently to Hyung-min, who was standing next to the large screen and explaining the tactics.

The atmosphere was so intensely focused that even the sound of breathing felt loud.

The burden of tomorrow’s match weighed heavily not only on the manager but also on the players.

The only difference was that the players were looking at Hyung-min with the expectation that the young maestro who was leading them would create something.

Faced with the expectations in the players’ eyes, Hyung-min suppressed his anxiety and worry and continued his explanation.

“Well, there’s no need to explain who Lionel Messi is, right?”

A low laugh rippled through the players.

There is quite a debate about who is the best player of the 21st century.

If you broaden the question to who is the best player in football history, there is even more controversy.

However, the mere fact that Lionel Messi’s name is never omitted from the candidates in any of those conversations demonstrates his greatness.

Hyung-min smiled and manipulated his laptop to display data on the large screen.

“But Lionel Messi is important, so I’ll talk about his recent status from the perspective of playing against us.”

What appeared on the screen were various indicators recorded by Lionel Messi during the first half of the 2022/23 season.

Starting with activity level and distance covered, the frequency of passes in each direction, the length of passes, the success rate of each combination of direction and length, dribbling, and all sorts of indicators were divided into four areas: attack, defense, activity level, and dominance.

“Hmm…”

A murmur rippled among the players who looked at the data.

It’s not surprising that the attack-related indicators are in the top tier and the defense-related indicators are in the bottom tier.

However, they looked surprised that the activity level indicators had fallen so much.

“As you can see, his activity level has decreased significantly. Well, it can’t be helped given his age, but what’s important to us is that his top speed, acceleration, and number of sprints are all at the bottom.”

As he gets older, his stamina decreases, his physical abilities decline, his speed slows down, and the number of sprints he runs during the game decreases.

In fact, football is not a marathon-like sport where you run non-stop for 90 minutes.

Rather, it is closer to a short-distance sprint race where you repeatedly sprint short distances of about 20 to 60 meters countless times for 90 minutes.

Therefore, you cannot say that a player’s influence has decreased just because the distance they run has decreased.

However, what these indicators show is that the movement and dribbling ability that made Lionel Messi a monster who dominated an era has been virtually eliminated.

Hyung-min smiled faintly at the expressions of midfielders with excellent defensive abilities, such as Nicolas Seiwald, Tommaso Pobega, and Nico Gonzalez, who suddenly became thoughtful.

“Lionel Messi is one of the best in the world just in terms of passing ability. The accuracy of his long and short passes is excellent, but his ability to connect what he sees with a pass, with that tremendous vision that penetrates the field, is outstanding. This is still alive.”

As Hyung-min manipulated his laptop, a highlight video of the passes Lionel Messi had sent this season appeared on the screen.

From short passes that find gaps and penetrate into the penalty box despite three or four defenders blocking the way, to long passes that go directly from one side of the field to the other.

Due to the nature of his position, which is active in the front line, there were not many passes that crossed the field from the defensive zone to the offensive zone at once, but the players whistled softly at the accuracy of those passes that occasionally appeared.

“But what was most frightening about Lionel Messi was that he could choose between a pass and a dribbling breakthrough at any time, and he could succeed in both. But now he can’t dribble as often, and even if he does, he can be caught.”

Next, a highlight video of Lionel Messi dribbling during the game this season appeared.

It was shocking to the players who grew up watching videos of Lionel Messi’s prime, who dribbled faster than most players sprinted, and who freely controlled his direction and speed, breaking into the penalty box and finishing with a shot, even though the opposing players who had been broken through were lined up chasing after him.

His direction change and speed control are still excellent, but his top speed is too low.

He somehow breaks through in narrow spaces, but if he needs to advance a little further, the opposing defender who had been shaken off catches up again and engages in a contest.

In the end, dribbling is only used when moving short distances to avoid checks, and he connects passes to Kylian Mbappé or Neymar, who are penetrating forward, or passes the ball to the fullbacks who are spreading out to the left and right flanks – mainly Achraf Hakimi on the right or Juan Bernat on the left.

If this happens…

“…It’s ambiguous.”

Captain James Tarkowski muttered, representing the players’ thoughts.

In the end, this downgrades Lionel Messi from the Lionel Messi who single-handedly dominated La Liga [the top Spanish professional football division] and the European stage during his Barcelona days to a very offensively-minded attacking midfielder or false nine.

Of course, even this is an incredibly threatening presence, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be stopped.

“That’s right. It’s ambiguous. But because we can’t give up the intimidation and offensive power that Lionel Messi has, PSG’s Galtier has structured the team in a way that maximizes his strengths.”

Along with Hyung-min’s explanation, the expected lineup for PSG’s central midfield appeared on the screen.

The most frequently used combination this year is a formation with Marco Verratti and Georginio Wijnaldum in the center and Leandro Paredes as a defensive midfielder below them in a triangle.

Below that, a list of other players who can play in midfield appeared.

Danilo Pereira, Ander Herrera, Julian Draxler, Idrissa Gueye, and Vitinha.

However, Julian Draxler and Vitinha are too offensively inclined, so if they form the attack with Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappé, the team’s balance will be broken.

In the end, PSG’s midfield must be composed of players with at least minimal defensive capabilities, even if it means sacrificing some offensive power, no matter how they are combined.

“There have been cases where they have been composed entirely of defensive players such as Danilo Pereira, Idrissa Gueye, and Georginio Wijnaldum. However, in this case, it becomes too frustrating to develop attacks from the midfield, so it doesn’t happen often.”

“Hmm…”

Thanks to the manager’s detailed analysis, the Burnley squad was gradually shifting from the enormous pressure given by the name value of the giant club PSG and the players they possessed to an atmosphere where they felt they could give it a try.

“Yes. They are not an easy opponent, but that doesn’t mean they are impossible to face. We have defeated Manchester City and Liverpool before.”

Sensing the change in the players’ atmosphere, Hyung-min nodded and brought out the thoughts that were in their minds.

The two powerhouses that have dominated the Premier League [the top English professional football league] and the European Champions League for the past few seasons.

The players who had inflicted one or more blows on them last season and this season nodded.

“Okay, this is how we plan to approach tomorrow’s game.”

Hyung-min, who had spent the night with the coaching staff coming up with a tactical plan, looked around at the players who were only looking at him, and displayed the plan on the screen.

“I can’t say that we will definitely win if we follow this plan. But I am confident that if we follow this plan, the probability of winning is higher than the probability of losing.”

The players, with their eyes shining at the manager’s bold statement, which usually only demanded the best possible performance, looked at the tactical plan unfolded on the screen.