Champions League: PSG in the fury of Galatasaray

There are destinations in Europe that make fans dream of all kinds. Athens, Belgrade, Liverpool, Dortmund and ... Istanbul. At all times, Turkish football is renowned for its incomparable ambiances in its stadiums. Galatasaray, which hosts PSG Tuesday night, is no exception to the rule.

The club founded in 1905 Ali Sami Yen at the eponymous high school, has forged in more than a century a record on the national stage (22 titles) and European (only Turkish club to have won a European Cup in 2000, and the reputation of having a volcanic atmosphere in the Türk Telekom Arena (formerly Ali Sami Yen Stadium). And that's what it can give.

Tide red and yellow, 52,000 ultras in tribunes. The stadium, inaugurated in 2011, is engorged in the ground, the ground is in the "English", near the supporters. Supporters, standing from the 1st to the 90th minute, ready to sing fervently for the team and to furiously whistle the opponent.

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"It's true that it's intimidating just to return to the 'Gala' stadium," says Ricardo Faty for Europe 1. The defender, who passed through Nantes, Strasbourg or AS Roma, put his backpack in Turkey 4 years ago. In Bursaspor, then in Ankaragücü. The warm atmosphere of Galatasaray, so he knows it as an opponent. "When you're in the tunnel, you feel the weight of the story, you see all the pictures, the charts, they really try to intimidate the opponent and put the pressure."

Zen like the PSG. For its part, Paris Saint-Germain does not seem to be a mountain of the hot atmosphere that may reign Wednesday night on the west bank of Istanbul. "Everybody told me that it's incredible here, it's our challenge to put up with being able to do well in this context, under pressure," said Paris coach Thomas Tuchel, in a conference. pre-match press.

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The same goes for Captain Thiago Silva: "We know it's going to be a very, very hot atmosphere against us, but we have to ignore what he's saying outside." As for Ricardo Faty, who has played several games in this forum, he admits to Europe 1 being "motivated" by this ambient hostility. "It's an atmosphere that can galvanize ... In the Champions League, the mood has to go up a notch."

Point of view that he seems to share with Kylian Mbappé. The Frenchman, who should not play the entire match, was clear last Saturday after the victory in Bordeaux: "I worked, the team worked, we all worked all our lives to live matches like that, so I think you have to make the most of it and come back with the 3 points. "

The previous Belgrade . And then Paris is accustomed in recent seasons to the warm European atmosphere. Last year, some predicted the worst in Marakana Belgrade, one of the most hostile stages of the Old Continent. Finally Paris had air conditioned atmosphere with a large 4-1 success. Finally, although Galatasaray played in an oven, it seems to have given him heat as the club has won only one of its last 16 European home games.