Many have already tabbed Paris Saint-Germain as the biggest winners of the ongoing summer transfer window so far.
PSG finished last season with several glaring needs, and club officials have already gone out to address most of them, such as bolstering its midfield depth with the signing of longtime Liverpool talent Georginio Wijnaldum.
PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino already has in mind the style of play that he wants to implement with the team this upcoming season and sees that some of the new signings would fit in to his preferred tactics. The Argentine manager spoke further to PSG TV about this matter.
“On the field side, football has two phases,” Pochettino said. “There are millions of details in football, but the most important is the management of the phases with the ball and without the ball. We must be aggressive, have clear automatism, and a real philosophy when we lose the ball.
“I think that for a club like Paris, the key lies in the way we get the ball back, the involvement and commitment of each of the eleven players who will enter the field when we don’t have it, that there is this rage and this collective work to leave the opponent very few options. I think that will be the key.”
Many criticized Pochettino last season for the lack of an aggressive mentality that PSG’s attack often played with last season. However, the Argentine may be looking to change this up for the upcoming season.
“The most important thing, far beyond tactical considerations, is that we have to be an aggressive, dominant team that plays in the opposing half,” Pochettino said. “That goes way beyond the defensive system we can adopt. For me, it is clear that the offensive animation must be the priority, because we must dominate the team in front.
“So tactical revolutions, I’m not a big fan of revolutions. I think what we are looking for first is the ability of the players to have that connection on the field, no matter what style of play we adopt. But we have to be clear that the mentality, the desire to attack and to have control of the games, will always be the number one goal at Paris Saint-Germain.
“I think our biggest challenge is to know how to take each match as the most important one, without differentiating between competitions, but playing each match as if it were the last one. We have to think like that because that’s what this club is all about.”
PSG currently bolsters one of the more proficient attacking units in world football today, and it will be interesting to see whether they will go on to play up to their full potential this upcoming season.
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