Luis Enrique: "End this incredible year in the best way possible"
Men's football•
The Paris Saint-Germain coach spoke to media and PSG TV ahead of the Coupe de France Round of 64 tie in Nantes.
"The Coupe de France is wonderful because there's the opportunity to play games against teams from other divisions. When you get to the final, it's one of the best games to play. We love the Coupe de France. I hope the Fontenay players will enjoy it on Saturday. We're the double defending champions, we want to keep that going."
"The young players know they always have to be ready, regardless of the time or day. But there's no pressure on them. We'll see, because there's a lot of fatigue, there's problems, things to deal with. We'll travel on Saturday and we'll see who plays. The youngsters will be there and I hope they'll be ready to help the team."
"I can't explain anything. It's incredible, but the player doesn't know how it happened. We think that it could have been on the third penalty when he made a strange movement. There's a fracture. With adrenaline, he was able to finish the shoot-out. It's incredible the ability to help the team that the players, including Safonov, have, to always be ready to help the team; That's the attitude we want. You have to be ready to help the team and work all the time."
"I don't think about what we have done. I think about the present, which means the day's training session and Saturday's match. Everyone in Paris thanks me, but it's my job. We're privileged to represent such a club so we have to stay on this same path. It's great what we have done this year, an unforgettable year, but we have to stay focused on the present. We have to play football well, we have to defend well and have a good attitude. It's the identity of our club. Our fans value that. It's our DNA and the result is the consequence of different things that we have been able to do. It's great to see a team with that attitude. We're happy, tired too, and the Coupe de France starts on Saturday. We want to finish this incredible year in the best possible way."
"I think that I shouldn't speak about what the team has done. It's clear to see, everyone has seen it. The key is to enjoy every moment, every day. We'll enjoy today's training session and Saturday's match. If you love playing football, love being a Paris Saint-Germain player, that helps you keep going. We're still looking to improve as a team. After analysing the final, it was a very good final. We played to a really good level, we defended well. The mentality is the difference between great teams. We're very happy with what we did."