PSG: “The Champions League is neither an obsession nor a pressure,” promises Marquinhos

“He is a coach who approaches daily life with a lot of intensity and preparation. He has very clear objectives. It is not there to give more importance to one competition than to another. It shows us that competitions are all equally important. We know the challenge of the C1. But to do our best, to challenge the big teams that we are going to face, we also have to do a good job in training and in all matches in the league or the Coupe de France. He is intense and demanding with us, very involved in what he does and what he transmits to us in the ideas and intensity in matches and in training, regardless of the opponent. (…) As soon as he arrived, he expressed his great ambition, his desire to do his best for the club, to ensure that all the players progress. This is what he seeks every day, in training and in matches. He has a lot of ideas, concepts. He gives us a lot of possibilities in matches in terms of tactics. Afterwards, it also gives a lot of freedom to the players to allow them to express themselves in the best way on the pitch. I love working with a coach like that, who has a lot of desire and things to bring to the locker room. He deserves to be there.”

“The group bounced back immediately. The coach showed us things to improve, others that were good and that we must continue. The team did their best in terms of attitude. It was in the details that we lost this match... Nice were very aggressive and pressed us hard, they put us in difficulty. It's up to us to understand the matches well, to learn lessons. This Nice match, a defeat, showed us things more clearly. We worked straight away, during the two training sessions that followed. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a very important match, we are all motivated, we all want to go on the pitch, do our best and give another result to our supporters. We know our strength at home. We must immediately show another face, from the first ball. We know that the supporters will be there, that they will have a great party.”

“Each player has his quality, his personality. I have always said that I will learn as much as possible with my teammates, trying to make them feel comfortable to do their best, like the idols I have had by my side have done with me . Skriniar, we all know his quality. I make sure to put mine at his service so that we can form a good duo. But it's not just us, there are other defenders, we must not forget them. There will be a lot of changes and rotation during the season, there will be a lot of matches, many goals to achieve. The coach has already said it clearly. In these first matches, we see it. There will be injuries, changes, you always have to be ready. Those who will be on the pitch will always have to be 100%. That's what I do. Whoever is by my side will do so too. When I’m not there, the others will do it in turn.”

“His role has not changed, it has always been very clear that Kylian is a very important player for us, a leader. This was already the case when the players you mentioned were there. He continues to be like that, to be an important player, to speak up. He shares his vision and expresses himself very well what he wants, what he sees. His role really hasn’t changed.”

“It’s not the words that put the pressure… The Champions League is neither an obsession nor a pressure. We work because we are competitors. The club has this mentality of competition, of wanting to seek it, as well as all the titles available. In the locker room, the coach, the managers, we don't just have the Champions League as our obsession. We want to get to the top but we know the path, we know that it is long, that we have to take it step by step. It's a very difficult competition to win. We have this desire, but it’s work and everyday life that will speak.”

“It’s a very difficult group. These are teams with history. Even if they are in difficulty as you said, football goes very quickly... Anything can happen in a match, each match has its story. It's up to us not to think about the opponent's dynamics but to prepare the match well, knowing the points to exploit and the opponent's strong points to cancel out. We have to prepare well, have a good match, the best match possible each time because all the matches will be important, it will be finals for us each time in this group phase. These are important points every time. Faced with big teams like that, we will immediately be challenged.”

“In the locker room, we are always very serene, very calm. There is more noise outside than inside... We know that well. Especially as the Champions League and important matches approach, it starts to pull on all sides. For our part, we are very serene, very calm. We tell each other the truth, we don't hide. In the locker room, there are only great players who know where we are, what we are like, in which direction we are going. Things are very clear in the locker room, we say things to each other, we talk to each other. As soon as the match against Nice ended, we talked to each other, we discussed the points to improve, the coach showed us things to improve the next day. This is how we have to be and how we have to continue.”

“We have a history in this competition, but each match has its history. PSG has changed a lot since these two matches, the same for Borussia. We keep in mind the feat we achieved (2-0 victory on the return leg and qualification for the quarter-finals, Editor's note). We had incredible matches that season, the supporters were with us. It was a special year with everything that was happening outside of football, Covid. This match gave joy to many people in Paris. I was very proud to see our supporters happy in this context. Football gives this power. From this match, I keep this emotion, this joy and this desire for the team to get through this round. I have good memories of this meeting.

Comments collected at a press conference