To explain Paris Saint-Germain’s Game Model is a true challenge.

Not only because of its complexity of movements and options avaliable, but also because it brings the old discussion of “what Beautiful Football really means?”

Well, I don’t have the answer.

No one has, in my opinion.

Football is the greatest Sport in the World exactly for that uniqueness of multiple factors:

1. There’s no clear path for success
2. Everyone loses and wins, eventually, regardless the Style of Play, System or Formation
3. There’s not as many goals (or points) as in other Sports, meaning every goal is special, an achievement
4. It’s teamwork at its best, even if you have a great group of players, you can lose the Game
5. Money is not the most relevant factor (although important)

And, probably others.

However, if we take a closer look to all of the ones at this list, they share something behind it: emotion.

And Football is about that, in the end of the days, emotion, connection, affection, mentality, resilience, etc.

Therefore, how can one state what “Beautiful Football” is, if we all see the Game in a different way?

Having that in mind, let me introduce how my eyes observe Luis Enrique’s masterpiece.

The great fundamentals are clear:

. Positional Game, meaning defining specific positions for players to be in, when in possession of the ball;

. Players profile: intelligent, reliable, consistent, hungry, fast, resilient are some of the must-haves to play at this team;

. Obsession for having the Ball at all times.

For me, these are clear.

Then, when these core elements start to interact, we have my “Beautiful Football” in place.

One that exposes the players intelligence, where they can express their qualities without the interference of the Coach.

Examples of what I mentioned before?
Well, we never (almost never) know, who’s going to be at certain position, although we expect someone to be there.

And that changes all.

For instance, Dembele may play out open on the wing, or drop as a holding midfielder and the rest of the team will adapt.

Joāo Neves may drop to the 3 defenders line (on the build-up stage) or to the side, just like Vitinha and Ruiz, and the rest of the team must adapt.

These consecutive counter-movements create a level of uncertainty, the so denominated chaos factor, to the opposite teams, that even if you get it at first, the level of complexity and consistency of movements are almost impossible to accomplish it completely, with the match passing by, frustration of not having the ball, quality of opposite players, etc.

It’s really, really special.

And really hard to achieve.

The set of players available must be really special.

Then, the team is hungry.

They want to win.

They run the entire match, regardless the player.

However, the risks are there, as always.

Nothing is perfect.

These movements can also create a fake sense of control.

Here, we must go back to player profile to understand the differences of losing the ball and having as holding midfielders Vitinha and Joāo Neves, or lose the ball when the holding midfielders are Hakimi and Dembele, or with the confidence and multitude of movements, having momentarily only 1 holding midfielder and be unprotected for a moment.

Just like it happened on Aston Villa’s 1st goal on the 2nd leg of the Champion Leagues Quarter Finals, when Dembele was their holding midfielder.

As a final note, although it may have been influenced by the home advantage plus the 2 goals away in England in the first minutes, this Game showed a face that I haven’t seen yet at this PSG’s team so far: negligent approach.

The team was soft on duels, out positioned at times, looking for individual brilliance more than collective achievement.

And that could be costly.

Hope they learned, because this team can build something really special this Season.

Bravo, Luis Enrique!

In the next few days I will share some of my Visions on the Defensive Principles of PSG, where Defensive Transitions, just as the Defensive Organization, mainly on the mix of man-to-man approach plus the more conservative approach of the defensive line can potentially create space for errors!

What’s your opinion on PSG?
Can they win the Champions League?

Let me know your thoughts!