We have confidence in every player: Mauricio Pochettino

Paris Saint Germain (PSG) manager Mauricio Pochettino has stated that he has great confidence in every player, ahead of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) encounter against RB Leipzig. Pochettino believes that every footballer in his side needs to feel important in order to deliver a fine performance and give the best account of themselves. The former Tottenham Hotspur manager admitted that the upcoming match against Leipzig will be difficult, but he is confident after taking into account the previous result against the German side.

“Need them to feel important”

“We have confidence in everybody. It’s our way of looking at things, every player is important throughout the season. We need them to feel important in order to give the best of themselves. We obviously look to the captain, the experienced players, but also to the less experienced players. The demands of a coach’s management of a squad are more accentuated than in the past. In every match there are complications. As a coach, we always look to improve the team. We are in the process of developing the team. There are several stages. We are in a particular stage that we are trying to develop. Some players are also settling in, and discovering new teammates. The match on Wednesday will be difficult, but we are happy with our first match against them and the result we picked up against a very physical side who complicated things for us,” said Pochettino in an interaction with PSG’s official website.

“These are formations that are just drawings at the start of the match. It’s not an animation. Our team comes out as a three, as a four, and moves in midfield… It also depends on the position of the players on the pitch and the way we keep the ball. We can play in various systems. As a fixed system, we can play with three centre backs. But we look for flexibility, not a fixed image. It requires comprehension. We hope that it will come quickly,” he added.

“Angel is a very important player”

Pochettino also had words of praise for winger Angel di Maria, hailing the player as a name that shines for itself.

“You are talking to me about a name that shines for itself, even in football. As I said, every player is important. Angel is a very important player. He has been at the club for years. In a team, balance is important in the different phases of the game. He brings his quality. We can always count on players like him. I repeat, teams need balance, the capacity of every player to commit in every phase of the game. The team remains the most important thing. If it works perfectly, the individuals will appear naturally. We want to continue to work on this balance,” stated the PSG manager.

Netherlands footballer Georginio Wijnaldum was another player who spoke at the pre-match press conference.

“The style is different to the one that I knew at Liverpool. At Liverpool, we had played together for a long time, we rotate a lot here, and we play in lots of different positions in order to be effective in whatever situation. It’s a new team for lots of players, we need to get used to playing together and to get to know each other better. It’s what we are doing as the matches go by. Systems don’t make too much of a difference for players, we do what is best for the team. It’s always better to be able to play in various different systems, it’s then a lot harder for the opposition to analyse us. I have played in lots of different systems in my career, and it’s always an added extra.”