PSG's Rise to World Domination in Football Under Luis Enrique
A Dream 'Team'?
It was the season of 2021-22. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) had just landed the impossible. After winning seven Ballon D’Or, the footballing behemoth Lionel Messi secured a contract with the French giants.
It was in this season PSG became widely known as a dream team. There was the 2021 Yashin Trophy winner Gianluigi Donarumma, who had to fight for his place in the team with Keylor Navas! In the back line, they had a mix of veteran presence and young blood. There were players like Sergio Ramos and Marquinhos along with the options of Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes and Hakimi. The versatile Giorginio Wijnaldum was ran the midfield along with Marco Verratti and Idrissa Gueye. The ones at the top, however, bagged most of the attention due to their star power. Neymar, Mbappe and Messi, also known as the MNM established PSG as a brand name which allowed them to go for multiple jerseys. Besides, they were also aided by the clinical Angel di Maria and Mauro Icardi on bench.
Nothing was stopping them from being the Ligue 1 winners but even that run consisted of four losses – a common standard ever since Nasser Al-Khaleifi’s takeover. Fans expected a Champions League trophy but unfortunately, this dream team never went past the quarter-finals – all due to a Benzema hat-trick in the away leg at Santiago Bernabeu.
Somehow, a team which was touted as a footballing juggernaut were now stoppable and teams had found their way around this. This is because football isn’t a game where talent is considered the utmost. A team needs to have spirit and above all, visible teamwork. While on paper, this team appeared like a force to reckon with – PSG’s 2021-22 team were like a pack of cards on a windy day.
The Crumbling
In 2022-23, Mauricio Pauchettino was replaced with the Frenchman Christophe Gatlier. Messi was gone and with him, a host of more than thirty players left the club. The squad, which once bolstered quality players on every position were now thinned out. It was for the first time, the club had played without Angel Di Maria who was sent on a free transfer to Juventus. Although Mbappe had the run of his life that season with 41 goals in all competitions, it seemed like PSG were on their way to become another example like Anzhi Makachkala or Guangzhou Evergrande.
However, in a faint glimmer of hope, players like Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, Carlos Soler, Hugo Ekitike, Renato Sanches and Fabian Ruiz were roped in.
Lucho's Arrival and the Initial Setbacks
Finally in 2023-24, PSG decided to try a few things. Another new manager arrived at the club and this time, it was Luis Enrique – commonly known as Lucho. Enrique was a proven manager and had already managed Barcelona to five trophies in the past decade. With Messi gone, Neymar and Mbappe followed the suit in subsequent seasons.
Immediately after his arrival, Lucho closed in the deals of Lee Kang-In, Lucas Hernandez, Goncalo Ramos, Bradley Barcola, Marco Asensio, Lucas Beraldo and Ousmane Dembele injecting fresh blood into the team. Lucho’s tactics were simple. Total mastery in multiple positions and willingness to track back for the team – something which cost the squad the coveted UCL trophy two years back. The season in the Ligue 1 was usual with every trophy collected along the way. The UCL drought, however, continued.
The season divided the Les Parisien fans. Some were enthusiastic, while the others believed it was still an old story that was been repeated. From footballing pundits to the average football fan, everyone opined that the “dream team” wasn’t a dream team but just a dream “squad”. When we looked at the team on and off the pitch, one could only find an ensemble of footballing heights. Vitinha, in one of his interviews with Canal+, recently stated that it was difficult when two or three wouldn’t track behind during precarious times. Lucho tried to reverse the concept. From Day 1, it was the team against the individual ego.
There was also an added emphasis on the young crop of talent – both from PSG academy and from other teams. Desire Doue was roped in from Rennes. There was special attention provided to midfielders like Warren Zaire-Emery and Senny Mayulu during the transfer market which was earlier not the case (apart from the exception of Marco Verratti). PSG, in the past, had let go of numerous young talents like Mike Maignan, Julian Draxler, Mitchel Bakker, and so on. This is what Lucho halted. The youngsters who were brought in, like Vitinha and Joao Neves, also found their footing. Pacho, who was virtually unknown, was roped in to solidify the defence along with the much-experienced Marquinhos.
All in all, Paris Saint-Germain changed their strategy for the next season of 2024-25. A team that concentrated more on being a brand and having high-profile signings suddenly started to appear rather conservative on the transfer market. There was also an added emphasis on relentless pressing, which needed total football – footballers who are able to play in multiple positions. Warren Zaire-Emery started as a right midfielder and attacker but over time, he developed the ability to be a successful right back alternative for Achraf Hakimi. Senny Mayulu emerged as a third-choice striker and second-choice winger apart from his role as a central midfielder. Vitinha plays all across the centre from an attacking to a defensive midfielder and so does Joao Neves. On the other hand, full-backs are given complete freedom to carry relentless attacks and this bolstered the firepower of both Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes – both of whom are arguably the best full-backs on the left and right side of the ground.
Given every tactical change, PSG were still struggling halfway down the season and fans who were once having high hopes on Lucho started to dwindle. By December, were at a 25th position in the Champions League wherein the top 24 could qualify. Sure, the ones playing back developed the ability to attack but he also needed players to track back and launch a counterattack.
The Gauntlet of the UEFA Champions League and Lucho's Revival
It is here that we learnt about Lucho's greatness. Enter the winter transfer window and in came Kvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli – the versatile and in-demand target of multiple teams; someone who could complement Dembele during counterattacks.
Needless to say, with the acquisition of the Georgian, PSG had found the missing piece for their success. With world-class performances from Doue, Donnarumma, Kvaratskhelia and of course, Ousmane Dembele – the team bounced back by defeating Manchester City 4-2. This was followed by another hat-trick by Dembele in the match against Stuttgart where PSG yet again scored four past the net. These victories secured PSG a ranking of fifteen in the Champions League, a spot for the knock-out rounds. By now, people were wondering whether Dembele – the player who was once shunned by the world for being casual and injury prone – was raking up for the Ballon D’Or before Haaland or Mbappe. While the PSG fans believed it, it took the world a few more days to notice the difference.
The knockout match was finished with ease as PSG put ten goals past Brest, showcasing just how lethal they were for the competition. Just about most players had their name on the goal tally – Vitinha, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia, Doue, Nuno Mendes, Mayulu and Goncalo Ramos. With this match, Goncalo Ramos solidified his position as one of the best second-starter strikers.
After the masterclass against their French side, it was time for PSG to face Liverpool – who were at their best since their UCL victory in 2021. It was in this match that Nuno Mendes proved himself as one of the best at his position, managing to block Salah for over one-hundred eighty minutes.
These heroics were followed by a close shave from Aston Villa that appeared like the only team to come close to touch them with Emiliano Martinez’s incredible World Cup style heroics. However, Martinez was not the only goalkeeper who had proven his prowess. In this match, it was Donnarumma whose moments of sheer shot-stopping and diving brilliance eclipsed the Argentine.
After qualifying for the semis, it was time for PSG to face the unpredictable Arsenal – a side which was now in a notorious form having eclipsed. Real Madrid. With goals from Dembele, Fabian and Achraf Hakimi, PSG comfortably sealed its spot to the coveted finals – something that they had the opportunity to win back in 2020. On the other side, they had the fighting Inter Milan; a club that was fighting for the UCL glory which they won last time in 2010. Even in the semi-finals of 2024-25, they pulled a miracle to end the mighty Barcelona, thanks to a last-minute wondergoal from Acerbi and an extra-time clutch from Frattesi.
It was in this final that the world came to know why the French Giants reaching this stage wasn’t just luck. Right in the twelfth minute, Achraf Hakimi found the ball in the box and slammed it past his former club to take the lead. In the next eight minutes, the youngster Desire Doue made his mark, becoming the youngest player to ever score in a UCL final. Doue wasn’t done for the night. A dozen of minutes after half-time, Doue showed the world how he was one of the world’s best youngsters and drawing comparisons to the Spanish poster-child, Lamine Yamal. This was followed by Kvicha Kvaratskhelia’s banger which put the team 4-0. By now, it was not looking like a Champions League match but a one-sided slaughter. PSG, who were criticised by the footballing pundits for thirteen long years ever since the Qatari takeover, finally had their shot at redemption. In the ninetieth minute, Senny Mayulu scored a fifth which was just the cherry on the cake. His goal made sure his moment edged Doue’s youngest goal-scorer record which he set moments ago. 5-0. This match also sealed the fact that PSG now had the largest victory in UEFA Champions League history in terms of goalscoring difference.
At the Ballon D’or ceremony, we saw Ousmane Dembele receiving the coveted trophy from former PSG legend and Ballon D’Or trophy winner, Ronaldinho. A player, who was once considered a wasted and injury prone talent, was now at the topmost stage. Gianluigi Donarumma, despite the unfortunate exit to Manchester City, lifted the Yashin Trophy. The star-studded team was no longer star-studded but now a team that would have the privilege of ‘having a star’ on their emblem.
[Authored by Shreyan Laha]
Photo by Michael Zemanek / Shutterstock