To cope with the pressure and put in place a good preparation, “you have to be very close to the players, try to understand them quickly and be human”, explained Thursday, September 22, Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier at the Demain le Sport festival organized by franceinfo, with France Télévisions and L’Equipe, at the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique. Christophe Galtier returned to the management of the pressure and the strong personalities of Paris Saint-Germain. According to him, it is not complicated, on the contrary, “It’s a real pleasure. If you don’t have an ego, you don’t have a champion. If you don’t have a champion, you don’t win”insists Christophe Galtier.
franceinfo: How do you prepare a good team and above all how to prepare it to win?
Christopher Galtier: You have to be very close to the players, try to understand them quickly and be human, everything that is technical, tactical, physical, we have all the tools you need to be able to perform and ultimately very few coaches are wrong about that, because we are all well equipped. Then there is also the mental aspect. How do you approach a big meeting, how do you fight against negative pressure, how do you slow down overconfidence? These are all subjects that we address, either collectively, but also and above all individually.
How do you approach this subject with the players? What questions do you ask yourself?
We ask ourselves the question of why a player is less efficient? For what reasons ? We will therefore seek to find out what is happening at home, in his family environment. For the player who is in a state of grace too, we are careful to channel everything. There are a lot of exchanges and a lot of human relations. We are really in the human at that time and we have to be in the human.
Does the external pressure, the various controversies, does that also play on the preparation? How do we handle it from the inside?
When it is targeted on the team we work on it collectively, like when a player is exposed for x reasons in a negative way. Obviously there is great support and great support from both its partners, it is also a lever. But there are also all the components of the club, Luis Campos (PSG football adviser), but also by the coach. We are really supportive, without dramatizing anything, but also without hiding anything.
And the egos? Because obviously, at PSG, you still have extraordinary personalities. Isn’t it too complicated to manage them?
No, it’s a real pleasure. If you don’t have an ego, you don’t have a champion. If you don’t have a champion, you don’t win.
How do you win the Champions League?
Everyone will have to be beaten.