PSG skipper Marquinhos confident ahead of Champions League Final against Inter Milan
PSG will have a shot at their maiden UCL crown for the first time since losing the final in 2020 (Image via Getty)
Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos expressed confidence ahead of Saturday's Champions League final against Inter Milan in Munich, believing his team will handle the pressure and finally secure their first Champions League trophy.
The Brazilian defender, along with coach Luis Enrique and forward Ousmane Dembele, shared their thoughts on the eve of this historic finale.
PSG will play their second Champions League final, five years after losing to Bayern Munich in Lisbon in 2020. Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe are the only remaining players from the squad that took to the pitch in the final.
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"The club has learnt as time has gone on about how to deal with games like these, what it needs to do.
A lot of things have changed at PSG since I arrived. There have been great times, difficult times, but tomorrow we have a glorious opportunity to do something remarkable and historic for this club. It will be my second final and I don't want to let the opportunity pass us by," Marquinhos told reporters.
Marquinhos, now 31, has been with PSG since 2013 and has experienced both triumphs and setbacks, including the memorable 2017 collapse against Barcelona where they won 4-0 at home but lost 6-1 in the return leg.
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"We have a coach who is exceptional and has prepared us really well. Even if we are a very young team you can see how ready we are for these games. I think there is a whole mix of things which have come together to bring us here in the best condition possible -- the club has grown, the incredible coach we have, the quality players who have come in. I think that is why we are here today," Marquinhos added.
Despite losing Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid, PSG has achieved a domestic league and cup double this season.
They reached the final by eliminating three Premier League teams: Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal.
"Now is the time to get the trophy and bring it home," stated Marquinhos.
Ousmane Dembele, who has transformed from a winger to a striker with 33 goals this season, shared his thoughts on the final. "I am really proud to be here in the final. We have worked so hard. It wasn't easy at the start of the campaign but we have changed the dynamic in the second half of the season and it is exceptional to be here in Munich for the final.
We feel lots of joy even though we are going to take the game very seriously.
"
Coach Luis Enrique, who won the Champions League with Barcelona ten years ago, also faces an Italian team in Germany, just as he did when Barcelona defeated Juventus in Berlin.
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Will PSG secure their first Champions League trophy this Saturday?
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"Now I have 10 years more experience and I will just try to transmit to the players how great an opportunity it is for us to play a Champions League final. We have the opportunity to make history, to do something nobody else has ever done for this club before, but at the same time we also have to manage our emotions so they don't become too much for us.
I think we are prepared, Inter too no doubt, so I think it will be a really great final and of course the aim is to win it," Luis Enrique said.
PSG's journey to the final hasn't been smooth, having faced elimination threat during the group stage after a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in November, where Dembele was sent off. However, their remarkable recovery in the second half of the season has brought them to the verge of Champions League glory.
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