Eliminated on Saturday in the Final Four in Cologne, PSG once again had to say goodbye to their dream of European glory.
The curse of the Champions League is not unique to PSG’s football section. It struck again this weekend in Cologne. Beaten by the Polish club Kielce in the semi-finals, Saturday June 17, and ultimately last in the Final Four, excluded from the final podium, the Parisians failed for the sixth time in Germany in their quest for the most prestigious European trophy. Gossips will say that in eight years, PSG have progressed… by one goal. In 2016, for its very first Final Four in Cologne, the capital club, already with Luka Karabatic in its ranks, lost two units (26-28), already against Kielce in the semi-finals.
On Saturday, Paris only lost by a small goal (24-25) against this same Polish club. “It hurts, it’s played on nothing, on details”, lamented the Spanish right winger of PSG, David Balaguer, in the mixed zone after this new failure. Details maybe, but not only.
A poorly assumed status
Whatever their status, favorite or outsider, PSG have taken the bad habit of stumbling on the floor of the Arena in Cologne as soon as they enter the competition on Saturday (five times in six participations). It is now impossible to plead the lack of experience at this stage of the competition for a club which has long had the biggest budget and the best squad in Europe on paper (Omeyer, Narcisse, the Karabatic brothers, Hansen, Abalo, etc.) . With this constellation of galactics, PSG started out as big favorites in 2017 and 2018, without ever managing to lift the trophy, Vardar Skopje then Nantes ending the dreams of grandeur of Parisians at the height of their domination and splendor.
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And even when we expected it less, like this year, with a workforce more in tune with the economic realities of the moment, the club from the capital did not manage to create a surprise, leaving this role to the Germans of Magdeburg, heartthrobs of the great Barça in their semi-final and Sunday winners of Kielce. Not very comfortable with the costume of favorite, PSG did not have more success with that of outsider.
Cruel Scenarios
Cologne, your ruthless universe. In 2017, during the only Parisian final in six Final Four appearances, PSG lost by one goal (23-24), at the very last second, against Vardar Skopje and his executioner, Ivan Cupic. Rebelote this year in the semi-final against Kielce (24-25) while the champions of France had the equalizing ball to snatch an extension. But Luc Steins then Elohim Prandi lacked success in the dying seconds.
“I’m terribly sorry” confided on the verge of tears the left back, author of the last shot deflected and repelled by the goalkeeper of Kielce, Andreas Wolff. “I had too much waste in shooting in important situations. We would have deserved to go to the final, however.” Pocket center half Luc Steins also blamed himself: “The last shot I take, if I score, we’re in overtime and anything is still possible…”
Coaching questionable on several occasions
It’s not just the Parisian players who failed in Cologne, the coaches too. We still remember Noca Serdarusic depriving himself in 2016 of almost an entire half of the match of the Dane Mikkel Hansen, who was nevertheless on fire (ten goals, including nine in the first period). A very dubious choice, and in anticipation, no doubt, of the final the next day that the PSG players ultimately never saw, beaten by Kielce (26-28).
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On Saturday, Raul Gonzalez did not seem much more inspired, leaving Petar Nenadic in the field far too long in the field with no success (1 in 5 shooting) at left back. The late return of Elohim Prandi with his bandaged left hand did a lot of good for Parisians even if the statistics do not necessarily show it (4 out of 10). Seeing the former Nîmes start the game could have been the X factor. But the Spanish technician lacked audacity on this one.
The cursed competition?
It remains to be seen whether PSG will one day win the most prestigious of European competitions. “PSG probably missed their chance. I believed in it until Titi (Thierry Omeyer) retired in 2019. Since…”, already confided Jérôme Fernandez, the former captain of the France team, three years ago. In 2023, we are not much more advanced. With the premature elimination of Barcelona, this edition seemed to finally be the right one for the capital club, which will no longer benefit from the same vital forces next season. Author of an excellent end to the season, and a prolific first period against Kielce (4 goals), the Latvian giant Dainis Kristopans will leave Paris at the end of this weekend in Germany. Just like the Danish pivot Toft Hansen.
Their replacements, the Norwegian Kent Robin Tonnesen and the Spaniard Ruben Marchan, seem to offer fewer guarantees. After having counted in its ranks the greatest players on the planet, PSG no longer has the same power of attraction as during the first years of the Qatari era, especially in financial terms. In addition, next season will be the last in the immense career of Nikola Karabatic, who arrived in the capital in 2015 with the stated aim of helping PSG win their first Champions League. The only goal that the triple Olympic champion has so far failed to achieve. See you in Cologne in 2024 for one last dance?