Youssef Msakni smurfing into PSG?

"I don't care what he says, a blond mohican isn't a good look for anyone"

Here are the Paris St Germain news headlines of the last 24 hours.

- Nasser Al-Khelaifi said stuff to France Football, I'll summarise: New Messis blah blah, staying at the Parc blah blah, club identity important blah blah blah. It's nothing we haven't heard before, and who knows, some of it may turn out to be true.

- At France training Jeremy Menez and Franck Ribery were photographed wearing funny hats (above) which, according to Chronofoot, make them look like Smurfs. I'm saying nothing.

- The club has arranged a punishment treat for the players not on international duty, as the famous Brazilian singer Michel Telo will be visiting the Camp-des-Loges training ground today. Telo is so famous that I had to Wiki him to find out who he was, but it turns out his dance moves are very popular with footballers, who often copy them in their goal celebrations. I do like this new trend of inviting random famous people to the training ground, who next? Danny Boon? Johnny Hallyday? Watch this space.

In transfer news, stories have been floating around this week linking us with Esperance Tunis playmaker Youssef Msakni. Being young, highly-rated, and French speaking, Msakni was inevitably linked with Arsenal in the January transfer window, while Lille and Bordeaux are also meant to be keeping an eye on him. But according to (admittedly unsubstantiated) reports this week PSG are in pole position to land the €5million-rated player due to Leonardo's relationship with former Esperance boss Maaloul Nabil, who presumably still has Msakni's ear

Allegedly known as the African Messi (that should please Al-Khelaifi), 21-year-old Msakni is renowned for his technical ability and silky dribbling skills, and he scored this sexy goal for Tunisia against Morocco at the recent African Cup of Nations. Could be one to keep an eye out for in the summer.

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PSG stars go off on their travels

"While those other losers are in Germany I can stay at home and play Call of Duty"

This blog has been in a stunned silence since Sunday, when we awoke after a Saturday night out to the news that PSG had drawn 4-4 with Lyon the previous evening.

Having been 3-1 and 4-2 down, late goals from Ceara and the lovely Guillaume Hoarau, his second of the match, secured an unlikely point.

The result saw Montpellier take over at the top of Ligue 1, a fact which doesn't seem to concern Carlo Ancelotti too much.

"We played a good match and I'm satisfied with our performance," said the Mister. "We slipped to second but that's not a problem right now. Maybe it will be at the end of the season but we just need to stay confident and play our football.

"We needed to play well in Lyon and we did it against quality opposition."

He's obviously been reading my blog from last week. Or not. Anyway, this mid-week attention turns to another round of pointless international friendlies, it's been a while since we've had this joy. Over here Stuart Pearce will lead out some of England's finest, and Stuart Downing, for a match against Holland, and elsewhere several members of the PSG squad will be busy representing their own countries.

Matuidi, Menez, and Gameiro are all with France for their match in Germany on Wednesday, though there's no place for that man Hoarau. I'm going to stick my neck out and say that this one is unlikely to end well for Laurent Blanc's side.

Italy take on the USA in Genoa, and Thiago Motta will be hoping to win a place in the starting line-up. Less likely to be in the first 11 is Salvatore Sirigu, but I'm sure he'll enjoy 90 minutes sitting on one of those big heated seats that all dug-outs seem to have these days. Plus maybe Balotelli will let him play with his iPad.

Diego Lugano will captain Uruguay in their friendly in Romania on Wednesday. Let's hope he brings some decent form back with him.

Meanwhile Brazil and Argentina will be playing their first matches of the year in that hot-bed of footballing passion... Switzerland. Brazil take on Bosnia, but there's no place in the squad for either Maxwell or Alex. Looking at some of the shoddy defenders the Selecao have selected, one would think a prolonged run of first-team action would put the PSG pair in the frame for a call-up.

Javier Pastore misses out on Argentina's match against Switzerland. El Flaco was on the sidelines when the squad was announced, and only returned to fitness a couple of weeks ago.

Injury also means Milan Bisevac will miss Serbia's friendly in Cyprus. I'm sure he's gutted.

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Carlo's Lyon conundrums

It never ceases to amaze me how French football fans don't travel.

PSG will be followed south to Lyon tomorrow by nearly 1,000 supporters, their largest away contingent of the season. To put that into context, my "other" team, who play in the fifth tier of English football, took 1,100 supporters to an away match last month. Can you imagine if Manchester City could only muster that many people for a match at Chelsea? Madness, especially when you consider how passionate they are at home games.

Anyway, well done to all those going, it's quite a long way and promises to be a difficult match, despite Lyon's current ropey form. I was over in France last week and the papers were not impressed as OL snuck past Cypriot minnows Apoel 1-0 in the Champions League. Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Bordeaux came as no surprise either.

Nevertheless PSG weren't exactly on fire themselves against Montpellier, and Carlo Ancelotti has choices to make in every area of the team, apart from in goal where Salvatore Sirigu reigns supreme (sorry Douchez).

Defence
The main problem for Carletto is at right-back, with Bisevac and Jallet both out injured, and Ceara struggling with a virus. Had he been fit, I don't think Bisevac would have been an automatic choice anyway given his struggles against Montpellier, but with all three players out options are limited, and I suspect unless Ceara recovers Sylvain Armand will get the nod in an unfamiliar role. I suppose Siaka Tiene is an option too.

Midfield
Matthieu Bodmer should be back after injury, which is a great relief because without him a midfield three of Matuidi, Sissoko, and Motta looked decidedly one-paced against Montpellier. I don't want it to seem like I'm always hating on Sissoko, but I struggle to see what he gives to the team to justify his position as one of the squad's top earners. Bodmer brings a bit more attacking intent to the side, and has the ability to link with the front three, but it will be interesting to see whether he returns or whether Ancelotti hands a start to Javier Pastore. Pastore could also come in as part of one of the upper tiers of the Christmas tree, but dropping either Menez or Nene would be a bit harsh.

Attack
Kevin Gameiro's post-Christmas slump has been well documented, and it's hardly a surprise given that the poor bloke couldn't be less suited to a lone striker's role. Guillarme Hoarau on the other hand has all the tools to play up top on his own, and if I were in charge he would be starting at the Stade Gerland, especially after his late equaliser last week. You're always likely to see less of the ball in away games, so having Hoarau's physical presence to hold the ball up and allow others to break forward can only be a good thing. Super Kev is a great player, and it would be nice to see him and Hoarau both in the team at once at some point, but I doubt that point will be tomorrow.

Decisions decision. Montpellier are hosting aforementioned Ligue 1 form-team Bordeaux, so this could represent a good chance to put stretch our lead a little bit. If it doesn't all got seins up that is. Allez Paris!

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Ancelotti's PSG: Substance but no style?

Not sure whether Ed is big in France, but they usually like that kind of whiny nonsense

So far the week at PSG has been about as exciting as an evening in spent listening to Ed Sheeran records. Seriously, if that man is the best solo artist Britain has to offer our music industry might as well give up now.

While being terminally boring hasn’t stopped Sheeran achieving fame and fortune, it could prove to be more of a hurdle for PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti. Because while the Italian has yet to taste defeat since taking charge at the Parc des Princes in January, the performances levels on the field have been, er, very similar to those of Antoine Kombouare’s pre-Christmas team. 

This was particularly evident in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Montpellier where, as I noted in my last post, there was a distinct lack of cohesion and we relied on a couple of moments of individual brilliance to get us through the match.

Ancelotti has made it clear that the priority this season is to keep winning and secure the title regardless of how we do it, and grumbling is already starting. A poll in L’Equipe on Tuesday (thanks to @tomwfootball for pointing this out on Twitter) found only 25 per cent of respondents felt the PSG had improved under Ancelotti. A similar ballot currently running on the more-partisan Parisien site is more even, with 53 per cent of voters declaring we’re no better off with Ancelotti at the helm than we were when AK was in charge.

Another article in the Parisien suggests the players are struggling to get to grips with Ancelotti’s favoured Christmas tree formation: “It's a very difficult system to learn and very demanding” says a made-up un-named squad member, and the last thing we need is unhappy players given that the dressing room already has more than enough sizeable egos in it.

Personally, none of this bothers me unduly. This season was always going to be about the ends rather than the means, and I’d rather have an ugly winning team rather than a pretty non-winning team, even if said ugly team has had big-budget plastic surgery. You can say that we should expect more given the massive investment of QSI, but this is a club that doesn't have a culture of winning, and installing that has to be the first priority of the "project".

The details (ie looking like a functional team) can come later, but in the short-term Ancelotti could probably do with a dominant performance against decent opposition to nip the moaning in the bud. Saturday’s match at Lyon could present him with the perfect opportunity.

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PSG 2-2 Montpellier: Hoarau grabs a slice of the points

I hope their delivery boys wear rabbit costumes

Hello folks, I'm back and refreshed after my winter break. 

Sadly I didn't spot Leonardo on my travels (see last post) but I did learn that France has an amusingly-named chain of take-away pizza shops called Speed Rabbit Pizza. Sounds like the topping combination from hell to me.

In my absence, Paris St Germain laboured to a 0-0 draw in Nice last Sunday, and in midweek edged past Dijon 1-0 in the Coupe de France thanks to a Nene goal. A quarter-final with Lyon awaits.

Then last night, The Big Top-of-the-Table Show-Down in Ligue 1 ended 2-2, with Les Rouges-et-Bleu sharing the spoils with second-place Montpellier.

This morning's French papers are fairly unequivocal in their assessment that MHSC dominated the match and were unlucky not to win. And while I'd agree that we couldn't have complained too much had John Utaka's late goal proved decisive, I think on the balance of chances a draw was about right.

It was a match that showcased the two teams differing strengths. Rene Girard's team looked the more cohesive unit, with the outstanding Younes Belhanda pulling the strings in midfield and Ligue 1's player-du-jour Olivier Giroud roaming around menacingly up front. But PSG's vast wealth has brought them that extra bit of stardust, and a couple of moments of brilliance from Alex and Jeremy Menez earned them a point which keeps them just ahead of their rivals.

Chances came and went for both teams before the deadlock was broken in the 41st minute. For PSG Kevin Gameiro twice passed up good opportunities with only the keeper to beat, while at the other end Giroud couldn't quite connect with a cross from the left and Utaka forced a good save from Salvatore Sirigu.

The opening goal came from a free kick, which was a good 30 yards out in a central position. Nene rolled it to Alex, who wellied in a shot which swerved away from keeper Joudran at the last minute as he started to dive the other way. It was a powerful effort from the Brazilian, but the fact that it found the net owed much to the hideous pink beach-balls they use in Ligue 1. 1-0.

Montpellier didn't let their heads drop, and were back in it a couple of minutes later. Whether the PSG players minds were already in the dressing room is open to debate, but they certainly didn't seem to be paying attention as a half-cleared corner was lofted back into the box, and Belhanda dashed through a sea of static defenders to nod home. 1-1.

After the re-start Maxwell went close with an angled effort that flashed across the goal, but it was the visitors who were seeing more of the ball, and Carlo Ancelotti soon decided to shake things up, bringing on Guillaume Hoarau for Super Kev and slotting Javier Pastore into the central midfield three in place of Sissoko.

It was Pastore's first appearance for a month, and he almost made a dream return when he latched on to Nene's pass eight yards out but saw his chipped effort blocked by the body of the keeper.

Disaster struck in the 82nd minute when Giroud was given far too much time and space to measure a cross from the right, and Utaka raced in unmarked to head past the helpless Sirigu. Alex had left the pitch injured moments earlier, and one wonders whether the goal would have occurred if he, not Diego Lugano, had been stationed in the centre of our defence.

The Paupers looked set to stun the Princes in their own Parc, but PSG poured forward and were rewarded in the 89th minute. Pastore found Menez in the box, and he performed a double pirouette to get away from his marker and cross for Hoarau to side-foot home his first goal of the season! 2-2.

And that was how it finished. The match was a good advert for Ligue 1 and showed, if anyone was in any doubt, that Montpellier will not be letting Ancelotti's men claim the title without a fight.

Man of the Match: Alex - Good goal and solid defending until his enforced withdrawal

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Holiday time

Paris's latest landmark, I'm surprised they got planning permission

On Friday Le Parisien published a helpful stalkers guide to where abouts the PSG players live in Paris.

Personally I think it was just an excuse to re-print the Pastore-is-nearly-as-tall-as-the-Eiffel-Tower photo (above), but it did furnish me with the fact that Leonard lives in the 6eme, the same arrondissement as my in-laws.

I'm off on holiday this week, so will be taking my binoculars with me in the hope of sighting of our illustrious Director of Football. This blog will return in seven days or so, hopefully with covert pictures of Leo putting his milk out*. Or something. Allez Paris!


*This is a joke. PSG Tourist does not advocate stalking the rich and famous, especially when the notoriously baton-happy Gendarme are around

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A glimpse of Thiago Motta's text life

OM fans often find conversation difficult, poor souls

You'll have probably noticed that the England job has become available this week, and I wonder whether Antoine Kombouare could be a left-field candidate to replace Fabio Capello?

After all, following his experience this season he's used to working under ridiculous pressure in a job where's he on a hiding to nothing. I have no idea how AK's English is, but language didn't seem to be a concern for Capello and let's face it, anything's got to be better than Harry Redknapp.

Thankfully managerial shenanigans are a thing of the past at PSG, for now anyway. It's been a pretty quiet week at the club as the players prepare for the Nice game on Sunday under a humongous dome designed to keep the poor little petals out of the snow.

An amusing little story has come to light today as Thiago Motta's agent Dario Cavoni revealed the midfielder's move to France went through after Motta sent a text to Massimo Moratti, president of his former club Inter Milan, to ask for a transfer. Those who say there's too much player power in the modern game may have a point.

"The will of Thiago was decisive," said Cavoni. "It's incredible. In thirty-five year career, I have never seen such a desire on the part of a player."

Obviously it all worked out fine in the end, but I hope Thiago was careful when composing his message. If the predictive text feature on his phone is anything like the one on mine, he could easily have ended up requesting a move to PSV Eindhoven by mistake.

Cavoni also claims his client took a wage cut to move to Paris, which is nice.

He said: "His [Motta's] salary at PSG is lower than it was in Italy. And all those who say he pocketed a signing bonus are liars."

So there you go, footballer in not-in-it-for-the-money shock, and if you say otherwise you're a liar.

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