The French media outlet, L’Equipe (via Culture PSG), is conducting a series of interviews with the various Brazilians that have played for Paris Saint-Germain as the club will be celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Recently, they spoke with former PSG midfielder Nenê, who reflected on his three seasons with Les Parisiens and hopes to return to the club one day in some capacity.
Next on L’Equipe’s series list is former left-back Maxwell, who spent the last five years of his career with PSG before retiring in 2017. The interview with the Brazilian touches on a variety of topics.
They begin the conversation by talking about the squads that Maxwell was apart of, which were in part veteran groups.
“The years 2013 to 2015. We had an extraordinary group. I appreciated the teammates from before but, these seasons, we had a mature and united workforce,” Maxwell said. “We had breakfasts, training, happy. We often went out to Paris together to go to a restaurant. This is what I miss today: going to training with this group.”
Switching from his teammates, the L’Equipe wanted to get Maxwell’s thoughts on a specific coach that he played for, Carlo Ancelotti.
“Being able to know Ancelotti, to play for him, was an immense pleasure. I realized how the image it reflects sticks to reality. Carlo, for me, was a maestro in terms of human management,” Maxwell said. “We worked in an atmosphere of serenity. Everyone at Camp des Loges, from stewards to stewards, adored him. Even with his son, Davide, who collaborated with us, we talked a lot.”
Finally, the conversation concludes with how Maxwell would describe PSG because not only did he play for the club, but now he’s in the front office as assistant sporting director.
“It’s a special club. For the city of Paris, already. It’s crazy, the intensity that reigns there every day. There is not a quiet day. It is the pressure, the demand, the obsession with Europe,” Maxwell said. “It’s crazy…It is also a way of learning. In the other clubs I have known, there is a maturity that there is not yet here.”
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