If you are going to make history, you might as well do it with a bang and set a new milestone. With a resounding scoreline (5-0), unexpected heroes and tears in the victors’ eyes even before the final whistle, Paris Saint-Germain’s triumph in the Champions League final against Inter Milan was also a coronation.
Sporting history is written based on results, shaped by the retrospective meaning given to scores, rankings and titles. In Munich, on the evening of Saturday, May 31, the scoreboard delivered the moral of the football fairy tale of PSG in the Qatari era: Past failures have been transformed into tests on the path to triumph.
PSG has certainly written itself into the national football narrative by bringing France its second Champions League title. This does not yet make up for the anomaly of France’s meager club European honors, nor does it do much to improve its ratio of success in finals, with 13 lost out of 16. But French football welcomes this title with gratitude and admiration for the winners.
A PSG that is finally likable
The achievement was not just the victory itself. This young squad, stripped of its stars, with a collective spirit and brilliant play, having overcome three representatives of the Premier League โ the most powerful European league โ has made PSG a team that is finally “likable.” This trophy will only strengthen the widespread support that its journey has earned it.
Of course, the days when the French public rallied behind any (rare) continental run by a domestic team are gone. Still, the impact will be generational, as it has been for all the great French clubs. What place will PSG take among them?
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