"Remontada 6-1" haunts Paris Saint-Germain before facing Barcelona
Paris Saint-Germain, who misses the injured Brazilian star Neymar, is counting on his new Argentine coach, Mauricio Pochettino, to break his contract against Barcelona in the European Champions League in football, when they meet in the first leg of the round of 16 on Tuesday at Camp Nou.
After the start of a volatile season, St Germain sacked German Thomas Tuchel, who led him to the Champions League final for the first time in his history last season, and appointed Pochettino, who built his coaching reputation with Tottenham, England and also brought him to the Champions League final.
Tuesday's confrontation (12:00 UAE time) will be the ninth between the two parties in the last eight years in the first continental competition.
History stands with the Catalan club, and if any of the parties from the Round of 16 bid farewell, it will be a great disappointment for a team from the first row.
The most terrible confrontation between St. Germain Barcelona was in the round of 16 of the 2017 edition, when he went four-0 at the "Parc de Prince", but the second match witnessed the most famous "remontada" in recent years, when Argentine Lionel Messi and his comrades turned the score in the fatal seconds to victory My history is 6-1.
A victory that led to the transfer of the Brazilian match star Neymar to the ranks of Saint-Germain, with the most expensive deal in football history, amounting to 222 million euros.
However, the hopes of Saint-Germain, who in recent years dominated the French League, to avenge Barcelona, suffered a severe blow with a injury to Neymar, which became usual in the knock-out rounds of the Champions League.
The injury may also keep the Brazilian star away from the second leg, scheduled for March 10.
Nevertheless, the DC team is counting on the sophistication of Pochettino, who was a natural choice rather than mid-season.
The Argentine was a former captain of the Saint-Germain defense and a free coach of any contract after a successful career in Tottenham.
It is impossible to coach Barcelona
The "coldness" of the relationship with Barcelona gives the 48-year-old Argentine an additional incentive.
He spent a large part of his career playing in the Catalonia region, but with rivals Espanyol, which led him to the National Cup twice in 2000 and 2006.
He started his coaching career with Espanyol, who was suffering in early 2009, and sent a strong message when he defeated Barcelona and then coach Pep Guardiola 2-1 at the Camp Nou, to be the only victory for Espanyol in Barcelona in 39 years.
But the pinnacle of his coaching career was achieved in 2019 when he led Tottenham, without being a candidate, to the Champions League final before losing to Liverpool in a lackluster final.
He left Catalonia in 2012, but his ties remain strong there.
And whether he would ever coach Barcelona, he replied in 2018 jokingly, "I prefer to go to my farm in Argentina and work there."
He repeated his feelings in an interview with the French channel RMC, "I have a real passion for Espanyol. I spent 12 years there as a player, five as a coach. 17 years of my football career."
"He gave me the opportunity to become a coach. That is why and given the great hostility between them, it is impossible for me to coach Barcelona."
Play with several plans
Despite all this, Pochettino realizes that the elimination at the hands of Messi and his teammates is a big slap at the start of the team’s campaign, eagerly behind the first title in the continental competition.
In ten matches so far, he has won 8 times and drawn once, but his opponents cannot compare to Barcelona, who have regained their levels after a disappointing season start.
As long as Neymar is absent, Argentine winger Angel Di Maria and Italian midfielder Marco Verratti are in doubt.
The young striker Kylian Mbappe, who scored 4 goals in Pochettino's 10 matches with Saint-Germain, is not in his best days, especially in light of the constant talk about the possibility of his departure.
"We want the team to be confident of playing with several plans, but it is not easy to do a lot of work in just forty days," Pochettino said after the recent 2-1 victory over Nice in the league, where he is one point behind leaders Lille.
"We must be ready and the team will be ready," he continued.
On the other hand, Barcelona's seven consecutive victories in the league contributed to maintaining its hopes of competing with flying Atletico Madrid in the ranking, as it departs from it by 8 points, but with an extra match.
The team achieved its last victory at home to Alves on Saturday, 5-1, in a match in which Messi, the best player of the year, shone six times, and in which Dutch coach Ronald Koeman pushed the emerging talent in midfield, Eileish Moriba (18 years).
Messi seeks to lead Barcelona to the sixth title in the competition and the first since 2015, in light of increasing speculation about his transfer next summer when he becomes a free player to Manchester City, England, or Saint-Germain to play again with his friend Neymar!
Many young faces in the Catalan team this season, such as Guinea-born Moriba, Pedri, Ricky Butch and the injured Ansu Fati.
Dutch midfielder Frank de Jong also shines, as well as French Osman Dembele returning to his previous levels.
Regarding the level of Messi, who scored twice against Alaves, Koeman said, "He is focused. He is happy and he has found the killer shot again."
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