Last Saturday, the new recruits Grégory Coupet, Christophe Jallet and Mevlut Erding got to know the Parc des Princes on match day in the home team colours. The three neo-Parisians give us their first impressions.
On Saturday evening, at 18:55 Grégory Coupet and Mevlut Erding walk out onto the pitch in the starting XI, while Christophe Jallet takes his place on the bench. All three have already played at the Parc des Princes, with Lyon, Lorient and Sochaux respectively, but on this night, the cheers of the 30,000-strong crowd were for them.
After 35 minutes, PSG are trailing by a goal to nil, following Helstad’s 21st-minute strike. But the home support never faulted and Erding conjured an equaliser. “For a striker, to score his first goal like that, in front of his new supporters can be a great launching pad,” explained the Turkey international. “Coming in my first game at the Parc makes it even better. I feel liberated and I’m getting better and stronger out on the pitch.” The pressure didn’t get to the new forward as he fired home the wonderful equaliser.
With PSG leading thanks to Thomas’ own-goal, Grégory Coupet needed to be on top of his game and showed all his class to deny the Le Mans strikers a way back into the game (64’, 65’). The public was won over: ‘Coupet! Coupet!’. “All the ingredients were there for a great evening; a good pitch, beautiful weather, great fans, signing, really great!” enthused the goalkeeper. “This match will remain a great memory. It was magic, yes, Paris is Magic! Le Parc is a magnificent stadium. I signed here for nights like these.” Erding made way (to a standing ovation) for Christophe Jallet (72’).
The third summer signing came on to the right side of midfield or his first official outing with the Rouge et Bleu and had a first row seat for Ludovic Giuly’s 81st-minute goal that sealed the win. “The atmosphere was unbelievable. I’d already experienced it here as an away player, but it’s completely different when you in a PSG shirt,” said the defender. “The fans sang for the whole match, the two ends of the ground answered each other, even when we conceded a goal they kept going... And it finished in a 3-1 win – we couldn’t have hoped for more from a first outing of the season.” The fans were impressed with the club’s new signings, and it’s reciprocal!
