Pacho opens up: Champions League, PSG v Bayern, Marquinhos… | OneFootball

In an interview published on the official Paris Saint-Germain website, Willian Pacho, the 24-year-old Paris Saint-Germain centre-back, spoke ahead of the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. The Ecuadorian mainly stressed the strength of the collective, their shared ambition, and the importance of calm leadership in big matches. Without forgetting the importance of captain and defender Marquinhos (31);

Pacho: “The truth is, it excites us enormously”

On the Champions League last year

It was a very good run. I think the way we approached that campaign was very positive for us, because we had good results and bad moments—that’s football—but we knew how to lead this team with a lot of responsibility.

Always contributing a lot to the team, to the group, looking for ways to improve, and also with that humility of wanting to win titles, because once you’ve won something, it’s very difficult to win again.

So we always have to keep that goal, that collective ambition, in order to win, and to keep winning. And so now being in the semi-final, facing Bayern Munich, who are a very difficult team, the truth is, it excites us enormously because we know the work it took to get here, and also to see the playing project we are putting in place and to always believe in ourselves.

How do you feel?

Honestly, I feel very good, I’m very happy, I feel that I’m improving every day, I’m here to learn on a daily basis, and it’s always the collective that helps me a lot. Seeing what the team is like, like a family, like the team that we are—that is what has mainly always helped me improve and grow.

Pacho: “If we always support each other, I think that benefits us”

Ambition?

I think we must always keep in mind that the most important thing is the group, the team, with the same idea, the same work, the same approach, with that competitive spirit that always drives us. I think that is what really defines this team, this club, where every day we want to win, train in an incredible way, and always do our part.

Always contributing to the club, to the team, is the most important thing for us, and being united like a family, because if we always support each other, I think that benefits us.

Marquinhos?

Marqui is a truly incredible person. I think that from my very first day, I have always had his support. From the first day I arrived, that confidence as well... And then, he is such a wonderful person, the kind who tells you things honestly. He doesn’t mince his words, so I think that has helped me a lot to be able to help him in return, as well as Paris’s defence, by having a clear idea of how I can help them.

Because if you clearly know where and how you can help, I think that’s when you can make a really strong contribution, always giving to the team, as he has done for many years. That excites me a lot too.

Pacho: “We have very clear ideas”

Bayern?

We know it’s a difficult match, Bayern are in very good form, but we have very clear ideas. We have already faced them, but every match is different, every game is played in a different way.

So I think we have to prepare well, keep the same idea, believe in ourselves, follow our style of play that has brought us this far, and get ready for the two-legged tie ahead of us.

Honestly, as I was saying, we must always believe in ourselves, believe in this project, believe in our way of working. Then we have to prepare well mentally, be as focused as possible, because these are matches decided by details, and that’s where the difference is made.

Pacho: “Their support is going to be very important now, because they always have that passion”

The supporters?

I think the supporters—right from the first day I arrived in Paris—I felt their support, always in the best possible way. And for example, in the last match against Liverpool, when we played there, I think they were very important to our qualification, because from the moment we came onto the pitch, seeing them all in the away end and hearing them sing, I think that gave us incredible momentum.

And their support is going to be very important now, because they always have that passion and that way of encouraging us, and I think that is very important for us because sometimes, in the middle of a match, you hear them singing, shouting. And that fills you even more with emotion, with the hunger to win, so that you can give absolutely everything.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.