The French coach will not continue the adventure within the club of the capital, with which he nevertheless had one year of contract left.
And six. In twelve seasons at the head of Paris Saint-Germain, the owners, the Qatar Sports Investments group, have now removed six coaches they had chosen (Antoine Kombouaré was in place when the club was taken over by the Qataris in 2011, before being sacked six months later), counting the departure of Christophe Galtier, recorded on Tuesday July 4, after only one season spent on the bench. For the Parisian club, this new change is the illustration of a chronic instability of its technicians, pushed towards the exit or not renewed.
While the European Grail of the Champions League stubbornly refuses, the project stagnates, even regresses. And the waltz of coaches continues. Retrospective of a big decade, between wandering and frustrations.
Carlo Ancelotti: the foundations (December 2011 – 2013)
When Qatar Sports Investments bought PSG at the end of May 2011, the club was a giant that was recovering, but had lost its past greatness. One of the priorities is to install a renowned coach, something done with the Italian Carlo Ancelotti to take over from Antoine Kombouaré, on December 30, who leaves his post while his team is leader of the championship.
Sportingly, the first objective of QSI is accomplished: to be on the roof of Ligue 1. In a year and a half, Ancelotti fulfills his mission and advances Paris in Europe, with a first quarter-final in 18 years, and an elimination after two draws against what is still a great FC Barcelona. But doubt quickly arises in the Transalpin. “I didn’t leave PSG because of Real Madridhe explained to Canal + in 2015, two years after his departure for Spain. I left, because the initial project had changed and it had become just a problem of results.“
Laurent Blanc: the idyll of three years (2013-2016)
To take over, Paris wants a coach of stature, with a strong tactical paw. Enter Laurent Blanc, figure of French football and skilled technician. The idyll is almost perfect during these years which are also those of Zlatan Ibrahimovic at PSG. The stranglehold is total in France: only the Coupe de France 2014 is missing to sign three quadruplets in three years. Once this step has been checked, the new phase of the QSI project can be initiated: becoming a major player in Europe.
This will remain Laurent Blanc’s glass ceiling, beaten three times in the quarter-finals. The return match in 2016 at Manchester City is the final straw. The former coach of the Blues reinstates defender Serge Aurier, who had insulted him a few weeks earlier on the social network Periscope, then he tactically misleads in the return match and loses his team.
Unai Emery: the comeback (2016-2018)
After stagnation comes the onset of impatience. The Parisian management calls for change and brings in Unai Emery, who remains on a hat-trick in the Europa League with Sevilla. The Spanish coach first falls on the season of grace of AS Monaco, which steals the title of L1 2017. Above all, Emery will forever be the coach of the Camp Nou trauma. Winner 4-0 in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League, Paris drowned in Barcelona on the return (6-1), an XXL humiliation.
To recover, Paris robs its executioners thanks to its checkbook: 400 million euros are invested for Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. In France, things are better with a new full championship card – cups – Champions Trophy. But in C1, PSG saw another failure and a tasteless elimination, again in the round of 16, against Real Madrid.
Thomas Tuchel: the roller coaster (2018 – December 2020)
A new profile arrives on the bench with more rigor in the methods: the German Thomas Tuchel. The first season was disappointing, with the loss of the two national cups and another debacle in the Champions League with this catastrophic round of 16 comeback at home against Manchester United.
The Covid season follows, special in more ways than one. Paris is crowned early champion and snatches the two cups. In Europe, a miracle against Atalanta in the quarter-finals seems to break the European curse. Paris reaches the final, but stumbles on Bayern Munich. A frustration, but, finally, the feeling of progress, especially mental. Who will quickly be swept away by an average first part of the 2020-2021 season (3rd place in L1, two defeats in C1 groups) and the dismissal of Tuchel at the end of December. The latter will win this coveted Champions League a few months later, but with Chelsea.
Mauricio Pochettino (January 2021-2022), then Christophe Galtier (2022-2023): one-night stands
To succeed Tuchel, Paris thinks of holding the providential man: Mauricio Pochettino, former club player and successful coach after having notably led Tottenham in the C1 final. His first mission, to straighten PSG in L1, is a failure. Paris leaves the title to the more regular LOSC.
Pochettino made up for it in Europe, and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, eliminating defending champions Bayern in the process. The upturn is short-lived. The 2021-2022 season ends with a single trophy, in Ligue 1, and an inglorious elimination in the round of 16 from C1, despite the resounding arrivals of Lionel Messi or Sergio Ramos.
Pochettino pushed out, Paris tries the bet Christophe Galtier, established in France but novice at the highest European level. For similar results: coronation in Ligue 1 and Champions Trophy, but end of European course from the round of 16.
The season is also marked by extra-sporting controversies, accusations of racism against Christophe Galtier during his season in Nice, to the punishment against Lionel Messi for having missed a training session. The end of the adventure is bitter and leaves the PSG again in the works.