QSI Lodge, Parc des Princes: it is in this opulent lounge of the Parisian stadium that Marquinhos has an appointment with a part of the history of the capital club, Jean-Marc Pilorget. Trained at the club, the defender wore the jersey from 1975 to 1989 and made 435 matches in the red and blue jersey. A record equaled on Saturday April 6 by the Brazilian, at the club since 2013. The opportunity for the two men to meet and discuss this symbolic and historic milestone.
franceinfo: Marquinhos, what does it mean for you to break the record for the number of matches played in the Paris Saint-Germain jersey?
Marquinhos: Great pride. It’s an honor for me, I arrived at Paris Saint-Germain very young, I was 19 years old. And at that age, you never imagine having such longevity, especially in today’s football. It’s nice, I’m trying to put my name more and more in the history of PSG. When we look back, it’s really nice, it’s really an honor to join a player like Jean-Marc. More than 400 matches is huge! This means almost 40 matches on average per season. It’s a pride to know that the club had this confidence in me.
Jean-Marc Pilorget: I had this great pride in wearing this jersey, in having this record. Quite honestly, a few years ago I thought no one was going to beat him (smiles). And then this boy came, young as he said. It’s so rare in today’s football to see players stay so long at a club that I’m proud to see this boy break this record. Plus we played in roughly the same position, we were both captains a bit, I think there are a lot of similarities. I don’t know him personally, but I think he’s a good man.
Do you have to be a defender to break records?
Marquinhos: Maybe (laughs). It’s true that defenders often have more longevity within a club, they like to be loyal, that was the case for both of us, that’s part of our characteristics.
Were you thinking about it when you arrived at PSG in 2013?
No, honestly. I just wanted to come here to play with idols, great players, it was an opportunity, an honor for me to be on this team and to have more visibility. Time has passed, the more we play, the important marks start to appear, and the closer we get, everyone is talking about it, we start thinking about it. I arrived young, I wasn’t sure about playing, I didn’t know what my life was going to be like, there can be lots of circumstances but today I’m here and I’m very proud.
How do you perceive Marquinhos, his sporting evolution?
Jean-Marc Pilorget: He is a player who gives his all every time on the pitch. Sometimes he’s very good, other times he’s a little less good, but he’s a boy who doesn’t cheat. Fans know how to recognize players who don’t cheat. He scored his first goal in the Champions League (against Olympiakos, September 17, 2013, 4-1 victory for PSG), I don’t know what his destiny will be, if at the end of the season he will stay at the club or leave, but since his first goal he scored in the Champions League, why not go to the final this season and score the winning goal?
Marquinhos: It’s incredible (laughs)! I’m going to keep this in the back of my mind and I’m going to motivate myself for it for the end of the season.
You have been at the club for 11 years, you hold the record for the number of matches played, what about the future? In Paris or elsewhere?
“I always want to stay at PSG, afterward in football, we know how things evolve, if the club wants me or not. My desire is to stay here, I don’t think of looking for other things elsewhere .”
Marquinhos, captain of PSGat franceinfo
What was the most memorable memory in eleven years at PSG?
Marquinhos: I have lots of memories. The first match is always memorable. The Champions League final was also a very special moment for us, the club, and the non-football context with Covid. And then in relation to my personal life, my three children who were born here in France, everything I experienced here was very significant, that’s what PSG and the city represent for me.
Marquinhos: “Thiago Silva is my idol”
Playing for more than ten years at PSG, it’s rare to stay that long. Maybe it was easier for you back then?
Jean-Marc Pilorget: Having discussed it with a number of people, I am often told about pressure that is difficult to manage. I haven’t experienced that. I was born in Paris, I refused clubs because I had a dream, it was to play for PSG. I felt at home, the pressure I’ve never experienced. Today, it is more complex, even more so when you are not French, when you come from a foreign country. What Marquinhos did is remarkable, and it could be useful to a lot of people.
Marquinhos: Football has changed a little, with everything outside it, social networks, TV. But a football player must know how to manage that, have advice, lessons to be able to concentrate solely on the pitch. If a player wants to stay at Paris Saint-Germain for a long time, he must deal with all this criticism. In ten years, you will have good times, others a little more difficult. I’ve always given everything on the pitch and I give everything I can, and that’s what the fans like most from a football player, especially at PSG.
Who are the players who helped you at Paris Saint-Germain?
All teammates are important in a playing career. You always have those who are closer, I am thinking in particular of Thiago Silva, Lucas, Neymar and others who have been with me on this journey. But it’s true that Thiago, when I arrived, I said he was my idol. When an idol turns into a friend, we got along very well, both on and off the field, that’s why it worked very well.
You are now the big brother, who must pass it on to players, like Beraldo for example.
Marquinhos: I hope so, I will be very proud to be what Thiago was to me. I always try to help Lucas, to be with him. I also experienced this transition, a young player arriving in a very big team which has many very important objectives to seek. I will always be there for him and he can rely on me to help him as much as possible.
Jean-Marc Pilorget, you knew a PSG which had more “national” ambitions, which was not always qualified for the Champions League. Times have changed, PSG is systematically in the European Cup, what are your expectations?
Jean-Marc Pilorget: there are a few similarities between the two generations. I have the impression today that people are laughing at Paris Saint-Germain about the Champions League with all the mishaps there may have been, and its different paths, that reminds me of when I started , people thought that we were not a serious club, but when we won the Coupe de France (in 1982 and 1983) that changed a little, there was a turning point when we were champion of France ( in 1986). But I believe that one day, everyone will shut up because Paris will win the Champions League. Me, in 14 years, I won two French Cups and a championship. Now they are champions almost every year. It’s a club that is winning today, whereas at the time we were just a fledgling club.
Marquinhos: Each season has its story. The Champions League is one of the toughest competitions in the world, there is no gift, it is a difficult objective to obtain. But like all the other titles. Two seasons ago, we didn’t win Ligue 1. Not winning the Coupe de France or before that, the Coupe de la Ligue, that hurts. We must not trivialize these trophies. To go far in the Champions League, you have to give your all on the pitch on weekends.
You have a coach who helps you go in this direction, Luis Enrique, he seems to be the right coach, in the right place.
“That’s what he’s been telling us since his arrival, he wants to prepare this team for us to play every game to the fullest, at 120%. And as soon as there’s one who pushes a little less, he makes changes. He pushes us every day. We like having a coach who makes us move forward.”
Marquinhos, about his coach Luis Enriqueat franceinfo
Jean Marc Pilorget: It is certain that Luis Enrique is a good coach, but I believe that Paris Saint-Germain has had many good coaches, that is not everything. The important thing is the group of players, the osmosis that there can be, between them and with the coach. The players are in good hands, now there are plenty of objectives and we hope they will all come true.
Who could succeed you in ten years?
Marquinhos: Records are there to be broken. This will be a source of great pride for me, because it will mean that this player will have respected the jersey, the club, the supporters by spending all these years at PSG. I’m thinking of Warren Zaire-Emery, of Ethan, I hope they will have good longevity at the club to be able to beat me.
How do you view Warren Zaire-Emery?
He is a young man who immediately showed that he was a great player on the pitch. In training, we saw the difference, we immediately saw that he was ready. The club trusted him. He is a very humble boy who works a lot. You see the difference when someone is serious and has this mentality. I am very proud that he is happy at PSG.
What can we wish for Marquinhos?
Jean-Marc Pilorget: I wish him to still have a lot of fun on the pitch, win titles and be in tune with himself. Do what he wants to do, at the end of his career because he’s starting to get a little older, there’s more behind than in front (laughs), but the end must always be beautiful.