Lionel Messi and the renewed PSG start the season with the challenge of winning the French Super Cup

With a squad similar to last year, with another manager on the bench, a new project and the goal he has been pursuing unsuccessfully for a decade: the Champions League. Thus will start the official season of Paris Saint-Germain, with Lionel Messi in the ranks for the second (and last?) Season. The premiere will be this Sunday at 15:00 (ESPN will air) in Tel Aviv, where the champion of the last Ligue 1 will solve the French Super Cup with Nantes, the latest winner of the French Cup.

The concert of boos and whistles that accompanied the team in the second half of last season, especially after the painful elimination in the Champions League round of 16 at the hands of Real Madrid, did not come free of charge. Mauricio Pochettino was one of those who paid the price: he was fired (he still lacked a year of contract) and was replaced by Christophe Galtier, who arrived from Nice.

The French DT, known in Argentina because once he had a fight with Marcelo Gallardo, brought to training his own internal discipline rules, which for example prohibit the use of mobile phones during meals.

But the Brazilian Leonardo also left, sporting director for the past three years and head of hiring policy at that time. Here is another novelty for this campaign. Not only for the appointment of Portuguese Luis Campos in his place, but also for the decision of the Qatar Sovereign Investment Fund, which has managed the club since 2011, to change the profile of the team.

Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham, Mauro Icardi, Edinson Cavani. During this decade, the strategy aimed to add high profile players based on exorbitant investments. Although this allowed him to become the master of national football, it was not enough to win the Champions League and ended up generating exasperation in the fans. “Mercenaries”, “overpaid” and “reluctant” were some of the compliments given to their players. And the poisonous bush threatened to reach the leaders.

Then the leadership led by Nasser Al-Khelaifi decided to turn the helm: Mbappé’s continuity was ensured and he was given the power of leader of the squad, he let go of Ángel Di María, he threatened to sell the rebel Neymar, he changed coach and sporting director, and entered a market with limited and austere movements.

So, the squad is quite similar to last season and those who joined are not superstars like they used to be. Portuguese midfielder Vitinha (from Porto), right-back Nordi Mukiele (Leipzig) and striker Hugo Ekitike (Reims) arrived. None of them are over 24 and two of the three (Mukiele and Ekitike) are French. This is where the new policy seems to point: young people, with a good margin for progress and, if possible, local, to strengthen the bond with the fans.

With that budget and after a tour in Japan in which he added three wins against Japanese teams, Galtier will put together his first official release on Sunday. For now there will be a change of scheme: Pochettino’s 4-3-3 will become a 3-4-1-2 in which Messi will find himself behind the two forwards. Against Nantes the forwards will be Neymar and the Spaniard Pablo Sarabia, who returned after a year on loan at Sporting Lisbon. Mbappe will miss due to an exceptional suspension last season.

In the defensive phase, the new coach will renew the credit to Sergio Ramos, who had a disappointing first year and tormented by injuries. Together with him will be captain Marquinhos (one of the few to escape criticism from fans) and Presnel Kimpembe. The goal, a position that did not have a fixed holder last season, will be occupied by the Italian Gianluigi Donnarumma, who seems to have won the tug-of-war match against Costa Rican Keylor Navas.

This partially renewed squad will go in search of the eleventh French Super Cup for the club from the capital. To do this he must win the resistance of Nantes, the historic football team of that country: he has eight league titles, four in the French Cup and three in the Super Cup. His latest trophy, the French Cup which allowed him to play this Sunday’s final, was won in May against Nice, later directed by Christophe Galtier.