Paris Saint-Germain’s 2019-20 season will go down in the history books as one of the strangest campaigns in the club’s history.
Players who had returned to their home countries to quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic were expected to be called back to Paris to prepare for the resumption of the season but their vacation may be extended as France Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced that no sporting event can take place in the country before September.
That announcement effectively ended the Ligue 1 season and the club is now waiting to see if they will be handed the title or if the championship will be voided. We also don’t know about the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue finals, which PSG are in, but we can assume they won’t take place either.
One competition that may resume is the UEFA Champions League. Paris Saint-Germain reached the quarter-finals in early March after defeating Borussia Dortmund and desperately want a chance to continue on and are willing to play wherever and whenever.
According to Le Parisien, Germany could host PSG’s “home” Champions League fixtures, which would make sense considering the Bundesliga is expected to resume in mid-to-late May and several clubs have already returned to training.
It’s been reported that the Champions League could resume in August, so PSG would have three months of no matches before jumping back into the thick of it.
Le Parisien also reports that PSG leadership are waiting for the Ministry of Sports to release details and procedures regarding resuming training and competitions. In the meantime, they’re already looking at locations abroad to bring the team together and refocus.
My concern lies in the fact that if the Champions League does resume in August, how will PSG players perform after not playing a competitive match since March 11? Their opponent may come from a league that does resume and they will be match fit and more in rhythm.
Lots of questions and very few answers at the moment.
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