After a two-day break, the PSG squad returned to training at the Camp des Loges on Tuesday, in preparation for Thursday’s round-of-32 UEFA Cup return leg clash with Wolfsburg. Marcos Ceará casts his eye over this difficult away match in Germany…
Marcos, how was training this morning ahead of your departure for Germany on Thursday morning?“Everything went well. We’re all very focused on this UEFA Cup clash because we still need to qualify for the next round. Everyone is really motivated for what is a huge match.” You had a very good game against Grenoble last weekend. You hit two free-kicks and one was very close to winning the match...
“I’ve never stopped training my free-kicks, I just haven’t had the chance to take many. Against Grenoble, I had two chances – one missed by a little way, but the second was better. I hope to score soon, but I’ll just keep on practicing in between games. That’s how we get confident, me first of all, in this type of dead-ball situation.” After a season of adaptation, are we seeing the real Ceará this year?
“(Smile) I’m playing better than last year, but that’s normal because you always need a certain amount of time to get used to your new surrounds. In my first season, I still overcame quite a lot and forced my way into the side. This second term is going better, but the whole team has improved. It’s the same for me and I hope it continues.”
“I think that’s pretty clear. The board and the coaching staff have made it clear that the league is our priority. We want to show that we strong and in the hunt in the league and then after that, we have two other parallel competitions to play in. Obviously we want to go as far as we can in all the competitions and that’s why we still have to play well on Thursday to qualify for the last-16 of the UEFA Cup. But the number one goal is still the league championship and we want to hold onto this second place.” What did you think of Wolfsburg?
“They’re a really good team! A solid squad, very compact with loads of skill and physically very strong too. The return leg is doubtless going to be very difficult, but we have a two-goal advantage and hopefully we can hold onto that lead on Thursday by keeping a cleansheet. That will mean we’re into the next round so we need to be strong in Germany and return with our place in the next round.”
