It would seem like the footballing gods are smiling on the French capital at the moment. Not only have the biggest club in Paris welcomed new Qatari owners, and eight new players but now they have what looks like a relatively easy route into the Europa League Group Stage.
Differdange 03 from Luxembourg were knocked out of the tournament in the 3rd Qualifying round at the hands of Greek side Olympiakos Volos. A 3-0 defeat in both legs saw the minnows sent packing...or so we thought.
In June, UEFA started an investigation regarding the allegation of match-fixing involving 40 matches in the Greek Leagues, the outcome was the relegation of Kavala and Olympiakos Volos. An appeal was made and both teams were brought back into the Superleague but with severe points deductions, these deductions and the sanctions implied meant that Volos would not compete in the Europa League...Differdange were back.
Paris St-Germain will now face a side that were beaten 6-0 over two leagues by a team not classed as one of the big sides in Greece. This could possibly be the break Antoine Kombouare and his PSG side were hoping for.
On the opening weekend the performance against Lorient was very disjointed and lacked an understanding between the players, understandable for their first game together. The home side controlled most of the game and with over 59% possession the result should have been better, however a lack of movement and quality upfront they struggled to penetrate the Lorient defence.
During the game strikers Kevin Gameiro, Guillaume Hoarau and Mevlut Erdinc all failed to record a single shot on target. Not what you expect from the new big boys in France. Before the game record signing Javier Pastore was presented to the home support and the question marks were instantly raised about where “El Flaco” would fit in Kombouare’s plans.
Going back to his days as Valenciennes manager, Antoine Kombouare has been a strict disciple of the 4-4-2 formation. When at Palermo, Pastore would feature mostly in the playmaker position, or number 10. Under Kombouare at Valenciennes or PSG it is a position that very rarely has existed. It seems something will have to give.
During the away game at Rennes there were signs of improvement in PSG’s play, Kevin Gameiro’s 73rd minute goal involved Blaise Matuidi and Jeremy Menez in the build up, three new players all linking up for a well worked move. The other noticeable difference was in the formation. With Hoarau injured it was midfielder Mathieu Bodmer that took his place, playing behind the lone frontman. Was this a set up for the newest Argentine sensation?
The match against Differdange would be the ideal time to introduce Pastore to the PSG line-up, the expectations would be that regardless of formations or line-ups the French side would be too strong for their opponents. The temptation of playing Nene, Jeremy Menez and Javier Pastore behind the deadly Kevin Gameiro against a weaker opponent could be too much for the manager to resist.
Last season in Serie A, the 22 year old Pastore enhanced his reputation as one of the most up and coming players in World football. Scoring 11 goals and providing 5 assists nearly led Palermo to their first ever trophy as the fell at the last hurdle against Inter in the Coppa Italia.
Averaging over 47 passes a game and just over 2 key passes every match Pastore instantly adds an extra level of excitement to any side. In Serie A he average 2.57 successful dribbles per game which is just under what French Player of the Year – Eden Hazard (3.5) has averaged so far this season.
With a vital league game against Valenciennes to prepare for at the weekend it would make sense for Pastore to be given his chance in a low pressure situation and allow Kombouare to try out a formation he is not always comfortable with.
At the other end of the pitch there are a few injury worries that will force the manager to change the side that faced Rennes, defenders Mamadou Sakho and Christoph Jallet both had to be taken off after picking up hamstring injuries. Brazilian full back Ceara will fill in at right-back and ex-Leeds and St-Etienne centre-back Zoumana Camara will replace Sakho.
There is an old basketball phrase that says “The best defence is a good offence.” With the defenders out through injury it would seem the perfect chance to deflect all the attention to the exceptional Parisian forward line.
