After PSG were pitted against Chelsea in the
Champions League, Laurent Blanc ruled out wading into psychological
warfare with the Portuguese coach
Monday's last 16 Champions League draw pitted the English table-toppers with France's reigning champions - a repeat of last season's quarter-final - and the media latched on to Mourinho's pre-draw comments that he'd be happy to face PSG.
Blanc, who has been in charge at Parc des Prince for a year and a half, was prickly when asked about his retort to the former Real Madrid and Inter boss.
"Did Mourinho win the psychological battle? If he wins a point, it is because he's playing a game. I have no game to play mind games with Jose," the Frenchman told reporters.
"We know him. We know him very well. [The media] like that, you like his quotes. That's it. He's very strong in this aspect but not only that.
"He had done the math as we did, I'm sure, and he knew the teams he could meet. He knows PSG was one of them and he thought: 'I will come with my little quote.'"
"At the end of both games, we will be able to know if it was a good or a bad draw. The sure thing is that they are a great team, that's for sure. We know them well.
"We still have memories of last year. We remember that game. I think they are stronger this year. It's going to be very interesting. We have to get ready. We still have time to prepare."
PSG were knocked out of Europe by Chelsea last year on the away-goal rule after drawing winning 3-1 at Parc des Princes then losing 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
0 comments:
Post a Comment