Farewell to the era of superstars, Paris calls out the Champions League title in the name of "team"

After experiencing many disappointments and giving up superstar strategies, the French Ligue 1 giants have stood on the verge of making history. Paris Saint-Germain is standing on the threshold of making history this weekend's Champions League final against Inter Milan. Since the Qatar consortium took over in 2011, winning the championship of top European club events has become a lingering obsession in Paris Grande. Now, this dream is within reach.

For a long time, the Champions League has become a curse for Paris. The past decade has been filled with painful defeats, including the most famous "heartbreak" in 2017. They were defeated by Barcelona 1-6 in the second leg when they led 4-0 in the first leg of the round of 16. In addition, there was also the 2020 final defeat and the failure of the semi-final last season: they hit the goal frame six times in two rounds and eventually lost to Dortmund 0-2.

At the beginning of this season, Paris's Champions League journey seemed to be doomed to be bumpy, with only one victory in the first five games of the group stage. However, they rose strongly in the knockout stage, defeating Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal one after another, which made the Parisians finally believe that this is a good opportunity to realize their dreams.

"This is the first time I have felt such a strong confidence in Paris," said Clement Brosard, a French journalist who works for beIN Sport, DAZN and RMC Sport. "After eliminating Arsenal in the semi-finals, fans gathered on the Champs-Elysées to celebrate. If the championship is finally won, Paris Saint-Germain is eager to follow the example of the 1998 and 2018 World Cup champions France and hold a victory parade on this 'the most beautiful road in the world'."

In order to achieve the Champions League hegemony, the Qatar boss in Paris initially spent a huge amount of money to introduce superstars. From Ibrahimovic, Neymar to Mbappe and Messi, all of them are heavy signings signed to conquer Europe. But the era of "Superstar Battleship" has become a thing of the past, and Paris is now completely new.

coach Louis Enrique has created a team with young talents as the core, and the new star in Paris is the "team" itself. "You may have lost some magic, but the team overall seems more balanced," said Henry, a legendary French legend, recently.

Enrique, who led the Barcelona director eight years ago to reverse Paris, was the core of this change. After taking office two years ago, he insisted on abandoning the superstar strategy and instead reusing young players. Duai, 19, Joao Neves, 20, and Nuno Mendes, 22, have all become key main players, while Dembele, 28, has broken away from Mbappe's aura and grown into an offensive leader. "Louis Enrique always said that the team is the only star, which is particularly evident this season," Brosard pointed out.

"Enrique completely changed the face of Paris. Having Messi was an excellent opportunity, but he was sometimes booed by fans at the Park Princes. Some fans felt unfamiliar. I think this new concept has condensed Paris fans and the team has reduced self-ism."

Inter Milan, which stands in front of Paris, is by no means an ordinary person. They eliminated Barcelona with a stunning performance in the semi-finals and have the strongest defense in the Champions League this season. If anyone can stop Paris' sharp forward trident, it is the experienced and cunning team under Simeone Inzaghi. Inter Milan also suffered from the Champions League sorrows and lost to Manchester City in the final two years ago.

Paris is filled with an atmosphere of "the opportunity is now", and the same is true for Milan. "The fact is that with our efforts and sacrifices, we deserve to be on the Champions League final again," said Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez. "It will be incredible to experience the Champions League final again on such a scale. It is a dream that we can once again reach.