"We have never seen a grandstand score a goal. " Unless the case remains unknown, this phrase by Pacho Maturana, the legendary Colombia coach in the 1990s, has never been contradicted. Supporters may not score, but they can help. Paris Saint-Germain players will have to compose without "12e man ”for their knockout round of Champions League return against Borussia Dortmund. Wednesday evening March 11, the Parc des Princes will have the air and above all the acoustics of a concrete cathedral, very far from its atmosphere of the great evenings when nearly 47,000 people are warm there. But the sanitary measures imposed by the spread of the coronavirus prohibit this warm promiscuity until further notice.
Barely mentioned last week, the closed door hypothesis was enough to upset the Parisians, beaten 2-1 in Germany and already back to the wall. "You might as well cancel it, even said Vice-Captain Marquinhos. They (Dortmund players) had their supporters go. We want our supporters by our side. " Even if he is one of the former members of the squad, the Brazilian does not know the sound of silence at the Park. This scenario has already occurred twice in the French championship for PSG, against Bastia in 2005 (1-0) and Boulogne-sur-Mer five years later (3-0).
Edouard Cissé "inaugurated" the camera in the enclosure of 16e arrondissement, February 26, 2005 for the reception of Bastia, the fault of the use of smoke bombs by Parisian supporters four months earlier against Metz. "At the Park, I had never heard my coach's instructions, that night yes. Even from the central circle. It’s amazing, it feels like we’re in a training match. ”, says the former midfielder.
The "kill-the-foot" camera
His evening opponent, the Corsican goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau, has a sharper opinion on the issue. "We are not going to lie, playing without supporters, it sucks, sums up the current porter from Charleroi. It’s no coincidence that there have always been more home wins than away from home. " Not the scoop or the statistic of the century, but Penneteau takes pains to back up his thinking. “When you are pushed by your audience, you will look for the 5% more motivation inside you that can make a difference. This is clearly a disadvantage for PSG. They have to go back a goal late and wanted to put a big entry pressure on Dortmund, it will be more complicated without their audience behind. "
A simple question of context and habit? After the Rennes match in 2017 in Saint-Etienne in a Geoffroy-Guichard stadium private from its public, Christian Gourcuff went after the camera "Like kills football". The Breton coach went there from his little theory. " In these matches, there is no rhythm, no intensity, simply because there is much less emotion. "
This extra soul, Neymar and his teammates will have to look for it elsewhere. Edouard Cissé wants to believe that Parisians are big boys and pleads for a professionalism passing above this atmosphere of waiting room at the dentist. "The match is in camera because of the coronavirus, it is a fact. When you're a pro footballer, you have to deal with the facts. The time, the referee, the context … In their case, the motivation is not difficult to find. If they miss, they take the door and their season is over. They know they have to send wood. They could have asked themselves more questions if it was the first leg for example ", develops the finalist of the Champions League in 2004 with Monaco.
"Tuchel's speech will be decisive"
For proponents of positive thinking, this stroke of fate can also help weld a group weakened by the weight of repeated disappointments in the Champions League with three consecutive eliminations in the knockout stages. Patriot, Nicolas Penneteau wishes it for the happiness of French football. “I think the Parisians must tell themselves that everything is against them in the Champions League. They can look for additional motivation in this sense of injustice. "
The approach – necessarily specific to the encounter – risks being decisive. When the players are used to taking the pulse of the stadium first with their ritual walk on the lawn when the first supporters settle, then during the warm-up a few minutes from the kick-off already pushed by the kop vibrations. Wednesday is about reviewing this process and figuring out how to "build up the pressure" to bite into the first balls as the intensity of the Champions League dictates.
"Tuchel's speech before the match will be even more decisive than usual, thinks Edouad Cisse. But not only. Wednesday evening, they will be with each other. It’s also Leonardo (the sports director) and all the staff to be one with the players, to support them so that they are fully in the first minute. " Yes the public does not score a goal, PSG has only one to go up to break the cycle of failure in the round of 16.
