Pierre Sage, freshly named Ligue 1 Coach of the Year, is determined to pull off a surprise against Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain in what promises to be a glamorous but low-stakes match on Wednesday.
“Can you describe the hours after winning your Coach of the Year award? No, I can’t tell you about my night – I didn’t sleep much (laughs). It’s a special status, and I’m glad to be back here, to see the whole staff, because this award is for them too. We haven’t had time to celebrate together yet, but we will. They won’t let me off the hook, just like I won’t let them off, because I can’t take the award without including them. We’ll sort that out in due time, but I’d really like to celebrate something much more important before then (the French Cup final against Nice on May 22).”
Will you rotate your squad against PSG with the French Cup final in mind? Could you field the youth from Gaillette as a protest after the match was postponed (originally scheduled for April 11)?
“For me, that’s not an option. People bought tickets for a show, and subscribers expect a good match. We must respect that commitment. We also want to have a good game against the best team in the world, to try and compete with them. So no, we won’t pull an OM with the Minots (*). Instead, we’ll use this match as preparation for the final – it’s an important step. As I’ve said, we want to be one of the teams that truly troubles PSG until the end. As a young coach, this is my first time facing PSG at home (I’ve faced them four times at the Parc).”
(*) In 2006, OM president Pape Diouf sent N3 youth players to the Parc des Princes (0-0) due to security concerns over away fan allocations.
“I find many answers to my questions in what he does” – Pierre Sage on Luis Enrique.
Paris coach Luis Enrique congratulated you on your Coach of the Year award. What makes him the best coach in the world, and what would you take from his approach?
“I want to thank him for his words, both for me and especially for the team – he highlighted the collective performances. He said the two best teams in the league will face off tomorrow (Wednesday). For me, that’s already a reward when the current best coach in the world acknowledges that.
As a young coach, you have to learn from the greatest. What he achieves in terms of collective organization, variety, and flexibility – those are practices that inspire and challenge me. I find many answers to my questions in what he does. The level of autonomy and maturity in that squad is enormous. They apply variations effectively. You can’t just react; you have to anticipate. That’s why you need to stay ahead when playing them. I’ve tried some ideas in the past that didn’t work. This time, I’ll try to be a bit more imaginative and efficient.”
Reflecting on the postponement, how damaging was it?
“Sportingly, it wasn’t damaging because we didn’t play the game – you can’t call it harmful. But politically, it was very damaging – it highlighted many issues in French football’s decision-making. It feels like camps are opposing each other again, like in other battles. But that’s not our concern. We just have to play the best possible match to compete with the world’s best team. That’s already a huge challenge. I can’t waste energy on that. Let our leaders handle the other part of the problem.”
