PSG transformed from a team of disconnected superstars to one worthy of respect
Paris Saint-Germain have been here before - twice in a Champions League semi-final in the past four seasons - but not like this. Not with a team who are, whisper it, likeable. Not with a team who have structure and strategy. And not with a team for whom football, not fame and fantasy, is the sole focus.
There is still Kylian Mbappe, and the flashbulbs that illuminated his presence here in Dortmund on Tuesday night confirmed the circus remains in transit. But the ball jugglers and those elevated on stilts - Neymar and Lionel Messi - are no more. Prize tigers like Sergio Ramos have also been returned to the wild.
‘In the past, PSG was a club of Harlem Globetrotters,' says journalist Dave Appadoo of France Football. ‘There were superstars, but they weren’t involved or invested in the club. The same players, when they arrive in Madrid, Manchester or Munich, they are honoured to be there.
‘For PSG, it was the reverse, it was the club who were honoured to have them. It was not a healthy relationship. It was a show of communication and marketing, not football. It was uncomfortable. Now, fans, the media, it is like, “Oh, we are talking about football”. It is unusual, because PSG are not used to being liked!’
This being PSG, the high-wire act has not been altogether abandoned. Luis Enrique’s side were heading out at the group stage before teen sensation Warren Zaire-Emery rescued a draw against Dortmund, at this very same stadium. They lost at home to Barcelona in the quarter-final first leg and the turnaround in Spain was aided by a home red card.
Even confirmation of a third straight Ligue 1 title at the weekend needed rivals Monaco to lose after PSG drew 3-3 at home lowly Le Havre. But amid the chaos, there has been evidence of
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