The summer of 2022 is already far away for the former Lille technician. Arrived in the footsteps of “football adviser” Luis Campos, Christophe Galtier was supposed to embody a change of method, even a “revolution” in the management of the workforce, an area in which several of his predecessors had greatly failed. But nothing has been going well lately, like the last defeat, on Saturday, against Monaco.
Soft management of the stars, progressive incorporation of young “titis”, perfect agreement with Campos and convincing results: his first weeks took place without false notes, despite the initial skepticism in front of his lack of experience in the management of a populated locker room of big names and oversized egos.
Chain of encounters
He even managed to emerge rather unscathed from the communication error committed before a Champions League match against Juventus Turin, in September 2022, with the ironic evocation of the “land yacht” as a mode of transport to avoid the short plane trips. But this idyllic picture did not resist the series of meetings and the Parisian game began to crumble very quickly, to end up imploding with the long break due to the World Cup in Qatar.
The inability to beat Benfica Lisbon, which is however not to be ranked among the continental leaders, during the group stage of the Champions League, had served as a warning with a second place at stake. Today, faced with numerous individual bankruptcies and the disappearance of all collective coherence, Galtier (56) seems lost and running out of solutions.
“If I weren’t worried, it would be serious,” he admitted on Saturday after the fourth defeat conceded in barely a month and a half, in all competitions. “We have a very busy schedule and a very affected and weakened workforce, but we are worried. I understand the anger of the supporters, it is legitimate. But in these difficult times, we need sacred union.”
Fields impacted?
Since the takeover of the club by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in 2011, PSG have not been immune to shocks and crises, but they have never experienced such a negative series on the pitch. The circumstances certainly do not help Galtier with stars returned physically and mentally exhausted from the World Cup and an infirmary which is always full. In Monaco, the coach was thus deprived of three major players (Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Marco Verratti). But Paris displays too many shortcomings for the excuse to be completely valid.
This means that the pressure will be intense on the shoulders of the technician on Tuesday in the Champions League while PSG is also threatened in Ligue 1 by Marseille, who have returned to five small points. In the event of failure against Bayern, the patience of the Qataris, who erected the Champions League as an absolute objective upon their arrival in Paris, could have limits vis-à-vis a coach whose CV is not filled only with national trophies (champion of France with Lille in 2021, Coupe de la Ligue 2013 with Saint-Etienne).
Glimmer of hope
Small glimmer of hope: the essential Mbappé, injured on February 1 and initially announced unavailable for three weeks, trained with the group on Sunday, according to several media. Will he be Galtier’s savior against the Bavarians?
Luis Campos could also be impacted if this bad patch continues. Leonardo’s successor had admitted not being satisfied with the summer transfer window, which he had to lead with ex-sporting director Antero Henrique (2017-2019) in his hands. But he still enlisted six recruits (Hugo Ekitike, Renato Sanches, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, Nordi Mukiele, Carlos Soler), for a total amount of 115 million euros, the impact of which is difficult to grasp.
The inability for PSG to sign at least one new player this winter has also not allowed the Portuguese to correct the situation, even if he is hardly helped by the state of Parisian finances (nearly 370 million losses during the 2021-2022 season), closely monitored by the financial fair play set up by UEFA.