June 10, 2025 • 28 mins
After years of star-studded squads and painful European exits, Paris Saint-Germain have finally done it — they’ve won the UEFA Champions League. But this wasn’t the PSG of old. In this episode, we dive into how a humbler, more balanced team under Luis Enrique rewrote the club’s narrative.
From Ousmane Dembélé’s resurgence to the tactical evolution lead by Luis Enrique, we break down exactly what changed. No more galáctico drama. No more ego-led collapses. Just a team, finally united.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Huddle Within podcast, where we go beyond the
surface to uncover the real impact of sports on our lives.
Whether it's lessons of resilience, the passion that
fuels us, or the stories that connect us all, This is where
the game gets personal. I am Daniel, a regular sports
fan just like you, and together we'll explore what sports truly
means beyond the surface. So step right into the Huddle
and let's get into it. What is going on everybody?
(00:41):
And welcome to another episode of The Huddle Within podcast.
Thank you very much for tuning in once again.
As you can tell from the title of the episode, we're going to
be breaking down PSG's dominant victory in the Champions League
final against Inter Milan, winning five nil against them in
a pretty unconventional way and a way that most footballing fans
(01:02):
would would have never expected.PSG winning how they have,
especially with the team presently constructed as well.
So a really good deep dive into I guess how you don't
necessarily need to have a star studded team to win the
Champions League final, and thisPSG team definitely proved that.
(01:24):
So really excited to break that down for you all.
As you can probably tell from the sound of my voice, I'm
recovering from losing it after a cold.
So you may have not seen any content done for the Champions
League final, which was quite shattering for from my
perspective. Especially considering that I
did a lot of UI for Europa League and Conference League
(01:45):
stuff and kind of giving post match fan reactions as well.
So wasn't unfortunately able to do it.
Reason being is because I actually didn't have a voice and
also it's a it's very difficult here in Australia to get a
plethora of PSG or Inter Milan fans.
The plan was to go to Lygon Street and watch the game at
(02:05):
Brunetti's and give kind of a post fan reaction to Inter Milan
fans. Which probably ended up being a
good thing that I didn't go because I don't think there
would have been too pleased to have a camera in their face
after suffering A5 nil defeat inthe hands of PSG today.
But we're going to be talking about PSG, the club that was
(02:27):
criticised for a long, long timewhen the new owners came in with
basically just buying out the teams, breaking financial fair
play rules and constantly tryingto get over that, that hump of
of never winning a Champions League.
And they did it in a way that was looked was frowned upon, to
be honest, with the signings of so many superstars and so much
(02:50):
money thrown into the squad to now we're here in 2025 where all
the stars left in bad, in bad terms and also with with
criticism to the club. And they end up winning the
Champions League in a team that would probably be the most
likeable PSG team I could I could remember in a long time as
(03:10):
well with with so many young players, so many comeback
stories and so much, so much inspiration there.
So we're going to break down that.
For me personally, I look at this and I think PSG thoroughly
deserve it because of these storylines.
And I also think that they were the best team the whole
tournament, beating the likes ofLiverpool, beating Arsenal, who
(03:32):
completely dominated Real Madridin that, in that quarterfinal
and also destroying into Milan 5nil, which I'm not sure the last
time we saw a result that big inthe Champions League final, but
5 nil is is pretty crazy. So essentially we're going to
1st dive into why the team was different.
So from the last team that was constructed, you could obviously
(03:56):
all know that the team had a plethora of the stars, most
notably as a as a recent KillianBape, but also Messi and Neymar.
They were upfront, they were thetrio.
They were the ones that were were set to finally bring
success into PSGPSG obviously have been a really successful
(04:17):
club domestically, winning multiple titles and dominating
the French league to a point where people have famously named
the the league as the Farmers league, given that there isn't
too much competition in that in that domestic league.
However, I do disagree. There are some pretty solid
teams in there, a few teams thathave won the titles
(04:39):
occasionally. So, but anyways, I digress.
PSG being the dominant team of of France, Paris Saint Germain
has formally abbreviated, have dominated the leagues that have
continued to show a big presence.
But the one thing that they weremissing was a Champions League
trophy. And that was always something
(05:00):
that the club was always striving to get with these
signings. And you thought that with
Neymar, Messi and Mbappe, they were able to do this.
And as the club started developing through, once we saw
Messi leave and Neymar leave, they chucked all the faith into
killing Mbappe. They provided them a contract
which basically stated that he was able to have a say in
(05:20):
transfers. He was essentially pretty much
part of the ownership club. And what that would do to a
player's ego was massive. And he really felt that it
affected the team's chemistry and whatnot to a point where
even Mbappe wasn't too happy to be at the club.
He forced himself out for free and then ended up leaving to
Real Madrid this season in hopesto win the Champions League.
(05:44):
To his surprise, didn't happen. And his team that left would
have won the Champions League ultimately, which was which was
crazy in itself. And a lot of people would have
made that argument that if Mbappe was there, they probably
would never won the Champions League.
And that just shows how good this team was constructed.
But we've got to break out a fewthings of that.
(06:06):
It's not to say that these star players are unbelievable, but
the way that football and sport in general is moving towards is
that it takes more than superstars.
It takes more than big players to really win, win, win a league
or win or win a Champions Leaguewill say.
If you look at Real Madrid's team, presently constructed,
constructed, it is a team full of superstars that failed to win
(06:30):
any trophies this season. When you look at the team that
they have, that team should be winning Champions Leagues.
Do you name it? But weren't able to win anything
in their first year and that's what they say.
They weren't in the future, but as as as it stands, they were
trophy less. And then you go and look team
like PSG who have a very young hungry team, but a lot of
(06:51):
balance, a lot of gifts and a lot of discipline as well.
You look at that midfield Vitania, who he couldn't cut it
at the Wolves ends up dominatingthe UCL final and the season.
John Nevis is only like 20 yearsold, being a starting midfield
and dominating. And then the veteran likes of
February's in that midfield alsoshowing his progress and his
(07:12):
technicality and proven victory and leadership Once he was at in
the US for Spain, but also now representing that at PSG.
And it's just such a such a likeable team.
Even you're looking at the the the younger players, the younger
French players such as Douay andBarcola, who weren't really even
names last year, have come out and just purely, purely
(07:36):
dominated. And I think this all comes to
the back of Lewis Enrique's tactical brilliance.
He's such an amazing coach and avery lovable figure as well.
Obviously his daughter really tragically passed away years
back that forced him to take a step down from coaching and he
decided to come back and showed that he is a serial winner.
(07:57):
I think from what I've read, he's won seven of his last
finals. This guy does not lose finals
and he's come in and brought in a a system where there is no
egos. There is just hard work, great
determination and players that just are able to freely express
themselves and you can really see that in the team as well.
It's crazy that a manager can come and make such a big impact
(08:21):
and really change the narrativesof of a lot of players and and
the narrative of of a club as well.
And that's credit to to him as well.
And when I say that their team is more balanced, it doesn't
mean that they don't have stars per SE, because I do thoroughly
believe that stars do help teamssuccess.
(08:42):
But it doesn't all predicate on that.
But one player that has shown that once having a clear season,
he is a star player and that is Usmani Dembele.
He had a crazy season this season, scoring over 35 goals in
all competitions, 2 assists in the in the in the Champions
(09:03):
League final. He was able to break the record
of assists in Champions League tournaments as well.
So he was unbelievable. He was unbelievable.
So really, really good stuff from him and he is making a big
case for for the Balandor. And if you look at his career
trajectory, all what was said about him was that he was an
injury prone player and that hasall been proven wrong now with
(09:26):
this season where he's finally had a full season and he's able
to really show how good he is. He's coming and pretty much
impacted the team from the get go and really filled the shoes
of Killing and Bape with a bit of kind of purpose as well.
Obviously he's got a bit of an ego in the sense that he
believes in himself and he backshimself, but it doesn't feel
(09:46):
like that is detrimental to the team.
And you can really see that in his performances as well.
In the Champions League final, he didn't score, but he was able
to come, you know, make an impact and get a few assists on
the board as well. So really, really good to see
players like Dem Belly that has most definitely stepped up and
you can see through his his technical ability that he does
(10:08):
have that passion and and that that that will bill to to
succeed and he is good enough. And it was shown he obviously
had that killer season in BriciaDorman, which forced that €120
million transfer to Barcelona and it didn't work out simply
because of injuries. But once he had that full run,
he was able to show his success there.
So really impressive stuff from the team as well, presently
(10:29):
constructed and even with some smart mid season acquisitions
getting Kravitz scaler involved,I can't I can't say his name
properly, but the winger from Napoli, Georgian international,
who has come in and extremely impacted the team on a positive
note as well. The fact that he's able to
isolate his winger one on one isis pretty impressive as well and
(10:49):
it really opened up the floor for PSG attackers.
But just as an overall thing, the team is so balanced, the
midfield is hard working, the attackers are young and hungry
to get on the goal on score sheets and make names for
themselves and their defence is still solid.
You still got Donna Rumour, who's a key, key goalkeeper for
Italy and for PSG who has shown lots of success.
(11:11):
Marquinios has been a long serving player at the club, the
captain, the stabiliser and thensome.
Young new players as well, such as Patcher from Ecuador and
Frankfurt and also Nuna Mendes too.
It's just a crazy smart blend ofof veteran players that have
been there and been part of the club to also young and upcoming
(11:32):
stars. We've also hard working role
players that have just really made this team so, so likeable
and it's just great that this PSG team was the team that ended
up winning the Champions League final.
And I'm kind of glad for that because they did cop a lot of
criticism. And I feel like a lot of people
wouldn't have been able to celebrate and be happy for PSG,
(11:54):
maybe been happy for the individual players, but not for
the team as a whole as it was constructed to be a team full of
superstars. It's just great how the
management and the ownership were able to just turn another
page and try something new and that it worked.
It worked really well. Going on to I guess Luis Enrique
and mentioning his system and stuff, the fact that he's top up
(12:18):
his, his tactical work with his 433 false 9 system, having
inverted fullbacks, having a rotation system where players
earn their play. So you're not necessarily
guaranteed game time. As you can see, Bark Holder's a
star, but he's been on the benchtrying to earn his his game time
as well. And also he's just understanding
of player management. And I think that is top tier.
(12:39):
To be able to handle all these young stars and really get what
he wants from his players is something that is criminally
underrated and and Luis Enrique continues to to do a good job in
that. Now I'm basically just going to
break down the game itself. So obviously Inter Milan came in
defeating Barcelona, a really disciplined, defensive first
(13:03):
minded side. Coming into that, you would have
thought that it would have been very hard for PSG to break down.
However, it was definitely not the case.
They were able to to really destroy them from the get go.
It was really through those quick transition in space, being
able to just attack with force and will and going at defenders,
(13:24):
which truly gave them that dominance and result.
And you saw that through the early stages of the game,
especially through Duet, who was, who was always tucking in
wide and and with the the pace of them belly and covered
scalar, isolating the midfield and the defence, forcing them to
kind of shift on one side, gave space for so many third man runs
(13:45):
and so many attacking options, which did cause the goals that
happened so quickly. And, and DWE was one of the big,
the big instances in that they also were very quick to, yeah,
drag into midfield wide, exploitdifferent channels.
And it was just really good tactics from from Lewis Enrique.
You saw that the midfield was just picking passes left, right
(14:08):
and centre and just controlling the whole game.
Not into didn't really have any answers there.
And he was just stable at the back.
Like every time Inter did come close to scoring, it didn't feel
like they were going to threatenPSG's defence at all.
And just the fact that they wereable to to come out and score
(14:29):
multiple goals to a point where when Barcola was coming on, he
was literally just taking the piss.
Like if you scored that goal, that would have been one of the
best goals of of the final of I would have seen.
But again, him able to come out and play freely just shows how
how structurally sound and how happy that this this PSD team
(14:49):
was as well. And I think it comes from from
the ownership as well. So Nassar Al Qalafi, just having
the patience, having the understanding that maybe he
would have got it wrong before, but this time he was able to
change his vision and instead ofjust buying players that were
superstars, he opted to buying players that were right for
Lewis Enrique's system and also right for the club.
(15:11):
And he had a long term vision. He was always, always ambitious.
He always wanted PSG to win Champions League football and
was willing to do whatever it took to do it.
And if that meant to, to get away from what he was
comfortable with, it meant that.And that was that was something
that needs to be given credit to.
Because it's really hard for managers to come in or owners,
(15:35):
sorry to come in and, and try to, I guess, change a system or
change the way they think, especially given their Ecos are
so high, being very rich and having a lot of money instead of
just continuing to chase star players.
And maybe maybe they weren't available at the same time, But
still not being able to chase star players and have that
(15:56):
patience to really believe in Luis Enrique that he could get
the best out of the players he had is something that should be
given a lot of credit to the ownership.
And I talked about United in thelast episode, the fact that they
weren't able to sponsor or pay for employees to come and, and
watch the Europa League final. The PSG owner did the complete
(16:18):
opposite. Every single member of the PSG
staff that were involved in the club were given free tickets for
the game and I believe free flights as well.
So you're telling me a club likethat with the owner that
genuinely cares about the club doing that would not impact the
team? I, I, I can't, I can't sit there
(16:40):
and say that it didn't because being able to offer fans or even
fans, they are fans, but workers, free tickets to go
watch a Champions League final is, is just a testament to how
much the owners care about the club and how much they
appreciate the hard work of everyone.
And, and I guess they made the contribution to to PSG winning,
winning the Champions League ultimately through that as well.
(17:03):
So being able to, yeah, put football first.
Obviously PSG in the past and I,and I forgot to mention this was
a high marketing club as well, especially pairing up with
Jordan, focusing more on the fashion side, especially Paris,
given that it's a fashion capital, trying to make PSG
trendy in terms of of fashion and kind of branding rather than
(17:26):
football. They've done a full 180 on that
and it feels like this team has been strictly football related.
A lot of their players are not seeking or reaching with with
brands. They're very much focused on
their football. It's just great to see.
It's, it's super refreshing how we can see a club like BSG come
in and just change the trajectory of, of their identity
(17:49):
and really be, be likeable. And that just shows like, again,
I'm going to repeat it. It just shows that if you're a
team that wants to win a Champions League, it needs to be
a team constructed with with footballing players, players
that work together, players thatdon't have egos and not
necessarily have a team full of stars and galacticos.
(18:10):
It's a team that's hard working,that has a good coach and a good
system in place and people that actually ultimately care about
the football club. I think, you know, I didn't have
a lot to learn from a club like PSG, if I'm totally honest, But
from winning the Champions League, we have to go into, I
guess what does this really meanfor for the club as well and for
football as a whole? For those that have literally
(18:30):
watched PSG fail for for for so long, It does mean that the club
is legit, real, legit. And for the first time, they
didn't win because they were overwhelmed with stardom.
They won because they were better as a team and they won
their football identity. And moving forward, a lot of
people are going to be looking at this team and excited to see
(18:52):
that PSG are the real deal and they're able to compete for for
champions Leagues now and it doesn't mean that they have a
star team moving forward. This is big because yes, they've
won a Champions League trophy, but it really shows that
identities can be shift for clubs and if they find a certain
identity in a way of how they want to be represented as a
(19:14):
football club, it can lead to high, high success.
And PSG are just the perfect example of that.
That's why I've really been meaning to talk about this
because it does send the powerful message that money
alone doesn't mean it's structure, it's belief, it's
time, it's patience, it's trusting people in the club,
it's being able to back a philosophy, resisting the urge
(19:34):
for that instant gratification. And that's how you build
something that's long lasting. And if we take it into the real
world and into our lives, I think that's what people
struggle to do. You look at the pressure and I
was actually chatting with my friend today about this.
You look at the pressure of football and and the culture
that is associated with instant gratification.
(19:55):
A lot of clubs are looking to bring in coaches and they're
expecting that instant turnover within one or two years.
And if that doesn't happen, the coaches get sacked immediately.
And I don't think that is a sustainable way for a club to
maintain any success as well, ifyou look at what's going to be
happening at Tottenham. They're expected to actually
sack Ange Bostacoglu, which, OK,maybe my Australian bias does
(20:19):
come through here, but at the end of the day, the guy won a
trophy for you guys. It was your first trophy in over
17 years. To be able to back this manager
and understand that he can create a winning environment for
your football club is something that I think is extremely
valuable and sometimes patience is required.
Who says that the next manager that comes in for Tottenham will
(20:41):
be able to replicate the same thing or perform better?
Maybe if they leave, they'll perform better than 15th, but
that doesn't necessarily mean that Tottenham's going to win a
trophy. And that was the stigma that
that club had for so long and you finally brought in a manager
that I was able to do that, thatwas really able to bring a
trophy. And that was the ultimate goal
for Tottenham. And you can ask all the fans,
(21:03):
would they rather finish 5th on the table and not win a trophy
or they rather finish 15th and win a Europa League trophy.
99.9% of them would have preferred that.
Yes, the league title or the league position is terrible,
They finished 16th. But yes, the league position is
terrible, but they won a freaking trophy and that
qualified them for Champions League, which would have been a
(21:24):
top five finish anyway for them.So just sacking a coach just
doesn't seem like the right option anymore.
And being able to just to just back a manager is something that
I find extremely important. And I'm just really glad that
PSG was able to show this and prove this to the world because
they were a club that was like most clubs that wanted instant
(21:46):
gratification, that wanted to sign a lot of players.
They changed their identity and what did they get for it?
A Champions League trophy which which is which is amazing.
And again, this is going to be such a great football story
because it does relate to our lives.
Well, I'm going to say it again,a lot of us want that instant
gratification, but sometimes we're going to fail.
PSG failed a lot. They failed so much.
(22:08):
They invested so much money intoa club that didn't win Champions
League. But they just proved that with
patience, perseverance, being able to let go of our eagle and
stick to something that's long enough to work, you will see
success. So just start building, building
it live. Look at PSG and just and just
see how some patience, some opportunity to to work hard to
(22:31):
achieve something that was greatcan be very fulfilling and it
doesn't erase the past failures.But without those failures,
without the collapses, without the drama of Mbappe forcing his
way out, without messy going into the public and saying this
club will never win anything. It really was required for PSG
to get this victory and really turn the page on, on, on their
(22:55):
on their failures. And that's another thing that
sometimes as humans we fail to realise is that when we fail and
when we we don't get what we want or stuff happens to us bad.
It's just part of our journey. In the end of the day that
happened. We got to move on.
And if we do fail, it is step tosuccess.
It's all steps to success. And PSG again proved that.
(23:17):
I'm going to keep mentioning them because I'm honestly
inspired by their work. I'm inspired by the fact that
they were able to come out and really, really show that
sometimes things don't work out but you can still succeed.
And again, no one would have expected PSG to win a Champions
League final with this team. Or if if anyone was to tell you
(23:39):
before that they won the Champions League final, Messi,
Mbappe, Neymar playing in the same team, not winning a
Champions League, them leaving and saying that they can't win
with this club. You would think the club would
go downhill, but no, they ended up winning.
They ended up proving everyone wrong.
They ended up proving myself wrong.
They stopped being that marketing team that's just
(24:01):
endorsed by Jordan. They stopped being a team of
superstars. And they they they found the
purpose. They founded identity.
And I think this is just it's a great lesson for all of us and
it's a great football story for the world to really understand
that. Yeah, you don't, you don't
necessarily need a star studded team to win.
(24:21):
And that that applies to all sports.
If you're looking at NBA now, the Pacers who are fourth seed
with with some light headed roleplayers are in a are in a
conference league final, are in are in the championship for the
NBA. They have a chance to win a
championship. OKC is the same.
They were built from the ground up.
They're the youngest team in NBAor second youngest and the
(24:44):
youngest team in history to makean NBA Finals.
And, and they're, and they're going there.
This is such a good thing for sports, seeing teams like PSG
win Champions League finals the way they have, because it just
really shows that it doesn't take superstars, it doesn't take
high profile our names to succeed.
And that should be the same withus in our life.
(25:05):
We don't need to be equipped with all the talent, all the
fandom, all all the, I guess, stardom that we, our peers, our
people online are. And if we be ourselves, if we
stick to that course, if we be patient, we can win multiple
Champions League trophies in ourlife and PSG again really proved
(25:29):
that. It's a great story and
congratulations to them. Five nil victory against Inter
Milan and got to give commiserations to Inter Milan, a
great run to the finals. Well, no one would have expected
them to, to make the final. And they have a certain identity
too. That's, that's quite inspiring.
It's it's, it's packed with discipline.
It's packed with, with setting up shop, being able to grind out
(25:52):
victories and, and, and prove that is wrong.
It is something that is excellent and, and they've made,
they've made 2 Champions League finals in the last four years.
So they they, they might build off this and continue to to to
be better in the future. The new owner came in and got so
much criticism for stripping down and getting rid of a lot of
(26:13):
their star players. But he ended up creating an
identity and he's a very young owner with this club and was
able to save money and being able to find the right players
at the right price and and create a functional team that
does really well and and will continue to do really well.
So for Inter fans listening, your club's in a great place and
I'm pretty sure that you guys will will compete for titles,
(26:35):
continue to compete for titles in the Series A and will
continue to make deep runs into the Champions League.
So although they lost five nil, they are still a team that has
shown great inspiration. And PSG, yeah, a great
footballing story here, something that we'll remember
for a really long time. And I'm just so happy that a
team like this won the ChampionsLeague because it just shows
(26:58):
that football is in a great place at the moment and that
teams that work hard can, can win things.
And that's just awesome to say. And that's been a quick kind of
breakdown of, of the huddle within breaking down PSG and,
and, and they're kind of, I guess growth and rise to, to
winning this Champions League trophy, a trophy that they've
(27:19):
been waiting for for a long time.
And yeah, again, really good to see.
But if you did enjoy the episode, please feel free to
subscribe. We, we go across all different
sports and, and we go beyond thenormal hot takes and, and
breaking down the game itself. We do, we, we do find meaning
and purpose within stories like this and continue to do so as
(27:40):
well. And we also continue to have
guests that are first hand involved in this and kind of
share that same kind of thought and vision as well.
So continue to look out for those episodes.
Feel free to go back into the archives and have a look at
other episodes as well. But again, it's been your boy
Daniel from The Huddle Within. I hope you guys have a fantastic
(28:00):
week and I will catch you guys on the next episode.
Cheers. So that's a wrap for this week's
episode of The Huddle Within podcast.
I appreciate you for tuning in and being part of this community
where we go beyond the game and into what really matters.
If this episode resonated with you, make sure to subscribe,
leave a review, and share it with someone who sees sports
just the way that we do. And hey, I'd love to hear from
(28:22):
you. Connect with me on my social
medias, which will be linked below, send in your thoughts and
even be part of a future episode.
Until next time, keep that passion alive, stay in the
huddle, and remember it's alwaysdeeper than the game.
Cheers.
Welcome to the Huddle Within podcast, where we go beyond the
surface to uncover the real impact of sports on our lives.
Whether it's lessons of resilience, the passion that
fuels us, or the stories that connect us all, This is where
the game gets personal. I am Daniel, a regular sports
fan just like you, and together we'll explore what sports truly
means beyond the surface. So step right into the Huddle
and let's get into it. What is going on everybody?
(00:41):
And welcome to another episode of The Huddle Within podcast.
Thank you very much for tuning in once again.
As you can tell from the title of the episode, we're going to
be breaking down PSG's dominant victory in the Champions League
final against Inter Milan, winning five nil against them in
a pretty unconventional way and a way that most footballing fans
(01:02):
would would have never expected.PSG winning how they have,
especially with the team presently constructed as well.
So a really good deep dive into I guess how you don't
necessarily need to have a star studded team to win the
Champions League final, and thisPSG team definitely proved that.
(01:24):
So really excited to break that down for you all.
As you can probably tell from the sound of my voice, I'm
recovering from losing it after a cold.
So you may have not seen any content done for the Champions
League final, which was quite shattering for from my
perspective. Especially considering that I
did a lot of UI for Europa League and Conference League
(01:45):
stuff and kind of giving post match fan reactions as well.
So wasn't unfortunately able to do it.
Reason being is because I actually didn't have a voice and
also it's a it's very difficult here in Australia to get a
plethora of PSG or Inter Milan fans.
The plan was to go to Lygon Street and watch the game at
(02:05):
Brunetti's and give kind of a post fan reaction to Inter Milan
fans. Which probably ended up being a
good thing that I didn't go because I don't think there
would have been too pleased to have a camera in their face
after suffering A5 nil defeat inthe hands of PSG today.
But we're going to be talking about PSG, the club that was
(02:27):
criticised for a long, long timewhen the new owners came in with
basically just buying out the teams, breaking financial fair
play rules and constantly tryingto get over that, that hump of
of never winning a Champions League.
And they did it in a way that was looked was frowned upon, to
be honest, with the signings of so many superstars and so much
(02:50):
money thrown into the squad to now we're here in 2025 where all
the stars left in bad, in bad terms and also with with
criticism to the club. And they end up winning the
Champions League in a team that would probably be the most
likeable PSG team I could I could remember in a long time as
(03:10):
well with with so many young players, so many comeback
stories and so much, so much inspiration there.
So we're going to break down that.
For me personally, I look at this and I think PSG thoroughly
deserve it because of these storylines.
And I also think that they were the best team the whole
tournament, beating the likes ofLiverpool, beating Arsenal, who
(03:32):
completely dominated Real Madridin that, in that quarterfinal
and also destroying into Milan 5nil, which I'm not sure the last
time we saw a result that big inthe Champions League final, but
5 nil is is pretty crazy. So essentially we're going to
1st dive into why the team was different.
So from the last team that was constructed, you could obviously
(03:56):
all know that the team had a plethora of the stars, most
notably as a as a recent KillianBape, but also Messi and Neymar.
They were upfront, they were thetrio.
They were the ones that were were set to finally bring
success into PSGPSG obviously have been a really successful
(04:17):
club domestically, winning multiple titles and dominating
the French league to a point where people have famously named
the the league as the Farmers league, given that there isn't
too much competition in that in that domestic league.
However, I do disagree. There are some pretty solid
teams in there, a few teams thathave won the titles
(04:39):
occasionally. So, but anyways, I digress.
PSG being the dominant team of of France, Paris Saint Germain
has formally abbreviated, have dominated the leagues that have
continued to show a big presence.
But the one thing that they weremissing was a Champions League
trophy. And that was always something
(05:00):
that the club was always striving to get with these
signings. And you thought that with
Neymar, Messi and Mbappe, they were able to do this.
And as the club started developing through, once we saw
Messi leave and Neymar leave, they chucked all the faith into
killing Mbappe. They provided them a contract
which basically stated that he was able to have a say in
(05:20):
transfers. He was essentially pretty much
part of the ownership club. And what that would do to a
player's ego was massive. And he really felt that it
affected the team's chemistry and whatnot to a point where
even Mbappe wasn't too happy to be at the club.
He forced himself out for free and then ended up leaving to
Real Madrid this season in hopesto win the Champions League.
(05:44):
To his surprise, didn't happen. And his team that left would
have won the Champions League ultimately, which was which was
crazy in itself. And a lot of people would have
made that argument that if Mbappe was there, they probably
would never won the Champions League.
And that just shows how good this team was constructed.
But we've got to break out a fewthings of that.
(06:06):
It's not to say that these star players are unbelievable, but
the way that football and sport in general is moving towards is
that it takes more than superstars.
It takes more than big players to really win, win, win a league
or win or win a Champions Leaguewill say.
If you look at Real Madrid's team, presently constructed,
constructed, it is a team full of superstars that failed to win
(06:30):
any trophies this season. When you look at the team that
they have, that team should be winning Champions Leagues.
Do you name it? But weren't able to win anything
in their first year and that's what they say.
They weren't in the future, but as as as it stands, they were
trophy less. And then you go and look team
like PSG who have a very young hungry team, but a lot of
(06:51):
balance, a lot of gifts and a lot of discipline as well.
You look at that midfield Vitania, who he couldn't cut it
at the Wolves ends up dominatingthe UCL final and the season.
John Nevis is only like 20 yearsold, being a starting midfield
and dominating. And then the veteran likes of
February's in that midfield alsoshowing his progress and his
(07:12):
technicality and proven victory and leadership Once he was at in
the US for Spain, but also now representing that at PSG.
And it's just such a such a likeable team.
Even you're looking at the the the younger players, the younger
French players such as Douay andBarcola, who weren't really even
names last year, have come out and just purely, purely
(07:36):
dominated. And I think this all comes to
the back of Lewis Enrique's tactical brilliance.
He's such an amazing coach and avery lovable figure as well.
Obviously his daughter really tragically passed away years
back that forced him to take a step down from coaching and he
decided to come back and showed that he is a serial winner.
(07:57):
I think from what I've read, he's won seven of his last
finals. This guy does not lose finals
and he's come in and brought in a a system where there is no
egos. There is just hard work, great
determination and players that just are able to freely express
themselves and you can really see that in the team as well.
It's crazy that a manager can come and make such a big impact
(08:21):
and really change the narrativesof of a lot of players and and
the narrative of of a club as well.
And that's credit to to him as well.
And when I say that their team is more balanced, it doesn't
mean that they don't have stars per SE, because I do thoroughly
believe that stars do help teamssuccess.
(08:42):
But it doesn't all predicate on that.
But one player that has shown that once having a clear season,
he is a star player and that is Usmani Dembele.
He had a crazy season this season, scoring over 35 goals in
all competitions, 2 assists in the in the in the Champions
(09:03):
League final. He was able to break the record
of assists in Champions League tournaments as well.
So he was unbelievable. He was unbelievable.
So really, really good stuff from him and he is making a big
case for for the Balandor. And if you look at his career
trajectory, all what was said about him was that he was an
injury prone player and that hasall been proven wrong now with
(09:26):
this season where he's finally had a full season and he's able
to really show how good he is. He's coming and pretty much
impacted the team from the get go and really filled the shoes
of Killing and Bape with a bit of kind of purpose as well.
Obviously he's got a bit of an ego in the sense that he
believes in himself and he backshimself, but it doesn't feel
(09:46):
like that is detrimental to the team.
And you can really see that in his performances as well.
In the Champions League final, he didn't score, but he was able
to come, you know, make an impact and get a few assists on
the board as well. So really, really good to see
players like Dem Belly that has most definitely stepped up and
you can see through his his technical ability that he does
(10:08):
have that passion and and that that that will bill to to
succeed and he is good enough. And it was shown he obviously
had that killer season in BriciaDorman, which forced that €120
million transfer to Barcelona and it didn't work out simply
because of injuries. But once he had that full run,
he was able to show his success there.
So really impressive stuff from the team as well, presently
(10:29):
constructed and even with some smart mid season acquisitions
getting Kravitz scaler involved,I can't I can't say his name
properly, but the winger from Napoli, Georgian international,
who has come in and extremely impacted the team on a positive
note as well. The fact that he's able to
isolate his winger one on one isis pretty impressive as well and
(10:49):
it really opened up the floor for PSG attackers.
But just as an overall thing, the team is so balanced, the
midfield is hard working, the attackers are young and hungry
to get on the goal on score sheets and make names for
themselves and their defence is still solid.
You still got Donna Rumour, who's a key, key goalkeeper for
Italy and for PSG who has shown lots of success.
(11:11):
Marquinios has been a long serving player at the club, the
captain, the stabiliser and thensome.
Young new players as well, such as Patcher from Ecuador and
Frankfurt and also Nuna Mendes too.
It's just a crazy smart blend ofof veteran players that have
been there and been part of the club to also young and upcoming
(11:32):
stars. We've also hard working role
players that have just really made this team so, so likeable
and it's just great that this PSG team was the team that ended
up winning the Champions League final.
And I'm kind of glad for that because they did cop a lot of
criticism. And I feel like a lot of people
wouldn't have been able to celebrate and be happy for PSG,
(11:54):
maybe been happy for the individual players, but not for
the team as a whole as it was constructed to be a team full of
superstars. It's just great how the
management and the ownership were able to just turn another
page and try something new and that it worked.
It worked really well. Going on to I guess Luis Enrique
and mentioning his system and stuff, the fact that he's top up
(12:18):
his, his tactical work with his 433 false 9 system, having
inverted fullbacks, having a rotation system where players
earn their play. So you're not necessarily
guaranteed game time. As you can see, Bark Holder's a
star, but he's been on the benchtrying to earn his his game time
as well. And also he's just understanding
of player management. And I think that is top tier.
(12:39):
To be able to handle all these young stars and really get what
he wants from his players is something that is criminally
underrated and and Luis Enrique continues to to do a good job in
that. Now I'm basically just going to
break down the game itself. So obviously Inter Milan came in
defeating Barcelona, a really disciplined, defensive first
(13:03):
minded side. Coming into that, you would have
thought that it would have been very hard for PSG to break down.
However, it was definitely not the case.
They were able to to really destroy them from the get go.
It was really through those quick transition in space, being
able to just attack with force and will and going at defenders,
(13:24):
which truly gave them that dominance and result.
And you saw that through the early stages of the game,
especially through Duet, who was, who was always tucking in
wide and and with the the pace of them belly and covered
scalar, isolating the midfield and the defence, forcing them to
kind of shift on one side, gave space for so many third man runs
(13:45):
and so many attacking options, which did cause the goals that
happened so quickly. And, and DWE was one of the big,
the big instances in that they also were very quick to, yeah,
drag into midfield wide, exploitdifferent channels.
And it was just really good tactics from from Lewis Enrique.
You saw that the midfield was just picking passes left, right
(14:08):
and centre and just controlling the whole game.
Not into didn't really have any answers there.
And he was just stable at the back.
Like every time Inter did come close to scoring, it didn't feel
like they were going to threatenPSG's defence at all.
And just the fact that they wereable to to come out and score
(14:29):
multiple goals to a point where when Barcola was coming on, he
was literally just taking the piss.
Like if you scored that goal, that would have been one of the
best goals of of the final of I would have seen.
But again, him able to come out and play freely just shows how
how structurally sound and how happy that this this PSD team
(14:49):
was as well. And I think it comes from from
the ownership as well. So Nassar Al Qalafi, just having
the patience, having the understanding that maybe he
would have got it wrong before, but this time he was able to
change his vision and instead ofjust buying players that were
superstars, he opted to buying players that were right for
Lewis Enrique's system and also right for the club.
(15:11):
And he had a long term vision. He was always, always ambitious.
He always wanted PSG to win Champions League football and
was willing to do whatever it took to do it.
And if that meant to, to get away from what he was
comfortable with, it meant that.And that was that was something
that needs to be given credit to.
Because it's really hard for managers to come in or owners,
(15:35):
sorry to come in and, and try to, I guess, change a system or
change the way they think, especially given their Ecos are
so high, being very rich and having a lot of money instead of
just continuing to chase star players.
And maybe maybe they weren't available at the same time, But
still not being able to chase star players and have that
(15:56):
patience to really believe in Luis Enrique that he could get
the best out of the players he had is something that should be
given a lot of credit to the ownership.
And I talked about United in thelast episode, the fact that they
weren't able to sponsor or pay for employees to come and, and
watch the Europa League final. The PSG owner did the complete
(16:18):
opposite. Every single member of the PSG
staff that were involved in the club were given free tickets for
the game and I believe free flights as well.
So you're telling me a club likethat with the owner that
genuinely cares about the club doing that would not impact the
team? I, I, I can't, I can't sit there
(16:40):
and say that it didn't because being able to offer fans or even
fans, they are fans, but workers, free tickets to go
watch a Champions League final is, is just a testament to how
much the owners care about the club and how much they
appreciate the hard work of everyone.
And, and I guess they made the contribution to to PSG winning,
winning the Champions League ultimately through that as well.
(17:03):
So being able to, yeah, put football first.
Obviously PSG in the past and I,and I forgot to mention this was
a high marketing club as well, especially pairing up with
Jordan, focusing more on the fashion side, especially Paris,
given that it's a fashion capital, trying to make PSG
trendy in terms of of fashion and kind of branding rather than
(17:26):
football. They've done a full 180 on that
and it feels like this team has been strictly football related.
A lot of their players are not seeking or reaching with with
brands. They're very much focused on
their football. It's just great to see.
It's, it's super refreshing how we can see a club like BSG come
in and just change the trajectory of, of their identity
(17:49):
and really be, be likeable. And that just shows like, again,
I'm going to repeat it. It just shows that if you're a
team that wants to win a Champions League, it needs to be
a team constructed with with footballing players, players
that work together, players thatdon't have egos and not
necessarily have a team full of stars and galacticos.
(18:10):
It's a team that's hard working,that has a good coach and a good
system in place and people that actually ultimately care about
the football club. I think, you know, I didn't have
a lot to learn from a club like PSG, if I'm totally honest, But
from winning the Champions League, we have to go into, I
guess what does this really meanfor for the club as well and for
football as a whole? For those that have literally
(18:30):
watched PSG fail for for for so long, It does mean that the club
is legit, real, legit. And for the first time, they
didn't win because they were overwhelmed with stardom.
They won because they were better as a team and they won
their football identity. And moving forward, a lot of
people are going to be looking at this team and excited to see
(18:52):
that PSG are the real deal and they're able to compete for for
champions Leagues now and it doesn't mean that they have a
star team moving forward. This is big because yes, they've
won a Champions League trophy, but it really shows that
identities can be shift for clubs and if they find a certain
identity in a way of how they want to be represented as a
(19:14):
football club, it can lead to high, high success.
And PSG are just the perfect example of that.
That's why I've really been meaning to talk about this
because it does send the powerful message that money
alone doesn't mean it's structure, it's belief, it's
time, it's patience, it's trusting people in the club,
it's being able to back a philosophy, resisting the urge
(19:34):
for that instant gratification. And that's how you build
something that's long lasting. And if we take it into the real
world and into our lives, I think that's what people
struggle to do. You look at the pressure and I
was actually chatting with my friend today about this.
You look at the pressure of football and and the culture
that is associated with instant gratification.
(19:55):
A lot of clubs are looking to bring in coaches and they're
expecting that instant turnover within one or two years.
And if that doesn't happen, the coaches get sacked immediately.
And I don't think that is a sustainable way for a club to
maintain any success as well, ifyou look at what's going to be
happening at Tottenham. They're expected to actually
sack Ange Bostacoglu, which, OK,maybe my Australian bias does
(20:19):
come through here, but at the end of the day, the guy won a
trophy for you guys. It was your first trophy in over
17 years. To be able to back this manager
and understand that he can create a winning environment for
your football club is something that I think is extremely
valuable and sometimes patience is required.
Who says that the next manager that comes in for Tottenham will
(20:41):
be able to replicate the same thing or perform better?
Maybe if they leave, they'll perform better than 15th, but
that doesn't necessarily mean that Tottenham's going to win a
trophy. And that was the stigma that
that club had for so long and you finally brought in a manager
that I was able to do that, thatwas really able to bring a
trophy. And that was the ultimate goal
for Tottenham. And you can ask all the fans,
(21:03):
would they rather finish 5th on the table and not win a trophy
or they rather finish 15th and win a Europa League trophy.
99.9% of them would have preferred that.
Yes, the league title or the league position is terrible,
They finished 16th. But yes, the league position is
terrible, but they won a freaking trophy and that
qualified them for Champions League, which would have been a
(21:24):
top five finish anyway for them.So just sacking a coach just
doesn't seem like the right option anymore.
And being able to just to just back a manager is something that
I find extremely important. And I'm just really glad that
PSG was able to show this and prove this to the world because
they were a club that was like most clubs that wanted instant
(21:46):
gratification, that wanted to sign a lot of players.
They changed their identity and what did they get for it?
A Champions League trophy which which is which is amazing.
And again, this is going to be such a great football story
because it does relate to our lives.
Well, I'm going to say it again,a lot of us want that instant
gratification, but sometimes we're going to fail.
PSG failed a lot. They failed so much.
(22:08):
They invested so much money intoa club that didn't win Champions
League. But they just proved that with
patience, perseverance, being able to let go of our eagle and
stick to something that's long enough to work, you will see
success. So just start building, building
it live. Look at PSG and just and just
see how some patience, some opportunity to to work hard to
(22:31):
achieve something that was greatcan be very fulfilling and it
doesn't erase the past failures.But without those failures,
without the collapses, without the drama of Mbappe forcing his
way out, without messy going into the public and saying this
club will never win anything. It really was required for PSG
to get this victory and really turn the page on, on, on their
(22:55):
on their failures. And that's another thing that
sometimes as humans we fail to realise is that when we fail and
when we we don't get what we want or stuff happens to us bad.
It's just part of our journey. In the end of the day that
happened. We got to move on.
And if we do fail, it is step tosuccess.
It's all steps to success. And PSG again proved that.
(23:17):
I'm going to keep mentioning them because I'm honestly
inspired by their work. I'm inspired by the fact that
they were able to come out and really, really show that
sometimes things don't work out but you can still succeed.
And again, no one would have expected PSG to win a Champions
League final with this team. Or if if anyone was to tell you
(23:39):
before that they won the Champions League final, Messi,
Mbappe, Neymar playing in the same team, not winning a
Champions League, them leaving and saying that they can't win
with this club. You would think the club would
go downhill, but no, they ended up winning.
They ended up proving everyone wrong.
They ended up proving myself wrong.
They stopped being that marketing team that's just
(24:01):
endorsed by Jordan. They stopped being a team of
superstars. And they they they found the
purpose. They founded identity.
And I think this is just it's a great lesson for all of us and
it's a great football story for the world to really understand
that. Yeah, you don't, you don't
necessarily need a star studded team to win.
(24:21):
And that that applies to all sports.
If you're looking at NBA now, the Pacers who are fourth seed
with with some light headed roleplayers are in a are in a
conference league final, are in are in the championship for the
NBA. They have a chance to win a
championship. OKC is the same.
They were built from the ground up.
They're the youngest team in NBAor second youngest and the
(24:44):
youngest team in history to makean NBA Finals.
And, and they're, and they're going there.
This is such a good thing for sports, seeing teams like PSG
win Champions League finals the way they have, because it just
really shows that it doesn't take superstars, it doesn't take
high profile our names to succeed.
And that should be the same withus in our life.
(25:05):
We don't need to be equipped with all the talent, all the
fandom, all all the, I guess, stardom that we, our peers, our
people online are. And if we be ourselves, if we
stick to that course, if we be patient, we can win multiple
Champions League trophies in ourlife and PSG again really proved
(25:29):
that. It's a great story and
congratulations to them. Five nil victory against Inter
Milan and got to give commiserations to Inter Milan, a
great run to the finals. Well, no one would have expected
them to, to make the final. And they have a certain identity
too. That's, that's quite inspiring.
It's it's, it's packed with discipline.
It's packed with, with setting up shop, being able to grind out
(25:52):
victories and, and, and prove that is wrong.
It is something that is excellent and, and they've made,
they've made 2 Champions League finals in the last four years.
So they they, they might build off this and continue to to to
be better in the future. The new owner came in and got so
much criticism for stripping down and getting rid of a lot of
(26:13):
their star players. But he ended up creating an
identity and he's a very young owner with this club and was
able to save money and being able to find the right players
at the right price and and create a functional team that
does really well and and will continue to do really well.
So for Inter fans listening, your club's in a great place and
I'm pretty sure that you guys will will compete for titles,
(26:35):
continue to compete for titles in the Series A and will
continue to make deep runs into the Champions League.
So although they lost five nil, they are still a team that has
shown great inspiration. And PSG, yeah, a great
footballing story here, something that we'll remember
for a really long time. And I'm just so happy that a
team like this won the ChampionsLeague because it just shows
(26:58):
that football is in a great place at the moment and that
teams that work hard can, can win things.
And that's just awesome to say. And that's been a quick kind of
breakdown of, of the huddle within breaking down PSG and,
and, and they're kind of, I guess growth and rise to, to
winning this Champions League trophy, a trophy that they've
(27:19):
been waiting for for a long time.
And yeah, again, really good to see.
But if you did enjoy the episode, please feel free to
subscribe. We, we go across all different
sports and, and we go beyond thenormal hot takes and, and
breaking down the game itself. We do, we, we do find meaning
and purpose within stories like this and continue to do so as
(27:40):
well. And we also continue to have
guests that are first hand involved in this and kind of
share that same kind of thought and vision as well.
So continue to look out for those episodes.
Feel free to go back into the archives and have a look at
other episodes as well. But again, it's been your boy
Daniel from The Huddle Within. I hope you guys have a fantastic
(28:00):
week and I will catch you guys on the next episode.
Cheers. So that's a wrap for this week's
episode of The Huddle Within podcast.
I appreciate you for tuning in and being part of this community
where we go beyond the game and into what really matters.
If this episode resonated with you, make sure to subscribe,
leave a review, and share it with someone who sees sports
just the way that we do. And hey, I'd love to hear from
(28:22):
you. Connect with me on my social
medias, which will be linked below, send in your thoughts and
even be part of a future episode.
Until next time, keep that passion alive, stay in the
huddle, and remember it's alwaysdeeper than the game.
Cheers.
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