The summer of 2022 is already far away for the former Lille technician.

Arrived in the footsteps of "football adviser" Luis Campos, Galtier was supposed to embody a change of method, even a "revolution" in the management of the workforce, an area in which several of his predecessors had greatly failed.

Soft management of the stars, progressive incorporation of young "titis", perfect agreement with Campos and convincing results: his first weeks took place without false notes, despite the initial skepticism in front of his lack of experience in the management of a populated locker room of big names and oversized egos.

He even managed to emerge rather unscathed from the communication error committed before a C1 match against Juventus Turin, in September 2022, with the ironic evocation of the "sand yacht" as a mode of transport to avoid short journeys by plane.

But this idyllic picture did not resist the series of meetings and the Parisian game began to crumble very quickly, to end up imploding with the long break due to the World Cup in Qatar.

The inability to beat Benfica Lisbon, which is however not to be ranked among the continental cados, during the group stage of the Champions League, had served as a warning with a second place at stake.

Today, faced with numerous individual bankruptcies and the disappearance of all collective coherence, Galtier (56) seems lost and running out of solutions.

"If I weren't worried, it would be serious," he admitted on Saturday after the fourth defeat conceded in barely a month and a half, in all competitions.

"We have a very busy schedule and a very affected and weakened workforce, but we are worried. I understand the anger of the supporters, it is legitimate. But in these difficult times, we need sacred union."

Fields impacted?

Since the takeover of the club by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in 2011, PSG have not been immune to shocks and crises, but they have never experienced such a negative series on the pitch.

Luis Campos and Christophe Galtier in Paris on February 4, 2023 © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Circumstances certainly do not help Galtier with stars returning physically and mentally exhausted from the World Cup and an infirmary which is always full.

In Monaco, the coach was thus deprived of three major players (Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Marco Verrati).

But Paris displays too many shortcomings for the excuse to be completely valid.

This means that the pressure will be intense on the shoulders of the technician on Tuesday in C1 while PSG is also threatened in Ligue 1 by Marseille, who have returned to five small points.

In the event of failure against Bayern, the patience of the Qataris, who erected the Champions League as an absolute objective upon their arrival in Paris, could have limits vis-à-vis a coach whose CV is not filled only with national trophies (champion of France with Lille in 2021, Coupe de la Ligue 2013 with Saint-Etienne).

Luis Campos could also be impacted if this bad patch continues.

Leonardo's successor had admitted not being satisfied with the summer transfer window, which he had to lead with ex-sporting director Antero Henrique (2017-2019) in his hands.

But he still enlisted five recruits (Hugo Ekitike, Renato Sanches, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, Nordi Mukiele), for a total amount of 115 million euros, the impact of which is difficult to grasp.

The inability for PSG to sign at least one new player this winter has not allowed the Portuguese to correct the situation either, even if he is hardly helped by the state of Parisian finances (nearly 370 million losses during the 2021-2022 season), closely monitored by the financial fair play set up by UEFA.

© 2023 AFP