Weapons never owned by Messi s time: Strange kickoff, Paris Saint-Germain s tactical revolution

Weapons that have never been possessed in Messi's era: Paris Saint-Germain's tactical revolution

Under the coach of Louis Enrique, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) mastered a simple but extremely lethal tactical weapon - from the first second of the game to suppress the opponent through a carefully designed kickoff, completely controlling the rhythm.

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final kicked off at the Metropolitan Life Stadium, with Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea taking a peak showdown. This game is not only a contest between new European football forces, but also a collision of tactical concepts.

In addition to the star-studded lineup and a prize of up to $100 million, a seemingly trivial but potentially determines the outcome has emerged: Paris Saint-Germain's unique kick-off tactic.

Under the leadership of Enrique, this Ligue 1 giant has completed the transformation from "star-driven" to "system-oriented". The team no longer relies on the players' personal inspiration, but becomes a precisely operated tactical machine. The midfield trident composed of Vitinia, João Neves and Fabian Ruiz is not only extremely mobile, but also has absolute control over the rhythm of the game.

What really makes Paris unique is their strategy at the beginning of each game: when the whistle sounds, the ball is directly passed into the opponent's half-time, even close to the corner of the sideline. This seemingly random kick is actually a tactical trap that has been carefully planned.

According to football rules, there is limited pass space near the sideline, making it difficult for the opponent to organize smooth progress. It is precisely this that Paris takes advantage of the high-pressure pressing immediately after the kickoff, quickly blocking all outgoing routes like a cheetah pounces, suppressing the opponent in a narrow area, causing it to fall into a passive position. This tactic is almost impossible to achieve in the era when Messi, Neymar and Mbappe worked together. At that time, Paris focused more on the technical capabilities of the three superstars, emphasizing ball control and breakthroughs rather than high-intensity counter-attacks. But now Paris is completely different. Instead of waiting for the game to unfold naturally, they take the initiative to create chaos and force their opponents to fight at their pace.

Since the full implementation of this tactical system, Paris has taken the lead in 9 of the last 17 major competitions in the first 20 minutes, including top stages such as the Champions League and the Club World Cup.

against Inter Milan, they led 2-0 in just 20 minutes of the game; facing Real Madrid, they secured the victory 3-0 in 24 minutes of the first half. This suffocating start rhythm not only disrupts the opponent's deployment, but also completely destroys the space for counterattack.

Enrique once said: "Key battles are often determined by the first goal. We know this well, so we never slow down the pace." This sentence not only reflects his coaching philosophy, but is also verified again and again in actual combat.

This set of tactics does not rely solely on the midfield trio, but the result of the coordinated combat of the entire team. Dembele, Kvaratskhlia, Ashraf and others also participated in the oppression deeply, forming an airtight encirclement and suppression net. There is no time, no breathing, only continuous oppression.

"If you want to get more offensive opportunities, you have to get the ball back faster." Joao Neves explained, "We have to put 120% of our energy into it within 5 to 10 seconds of conceding the ball."

This tactic is not a completely new invention. In the 1990s, Nantes coach Jean-Claude Sudo used a similar strategy. But in modern football, the only thing that can be used so efficiently and accurately is the current Paris Saint-Germain.

In this game that determines the ownership of the world champion tonight, the seemingly ordinary kick-off move may be the fuse for the victory. It represents not only a tactical detail, but also a sign that Paris has moved from "star accumulation" to "tactical maturity".

This is something that Messi, Neymar and Mbappe have never had in the era, and it is also a new generation of football model forged by Paris under Enrique's rule - he has controlled everything from the first second of the game.