Photo: AP
Paris Saint Germain's Swedish player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, left, controls
the ball past Toulouse's Cheikh M'Bengu during a League One soccer
match at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Friday, Sept. 14, 2012.
Paris Saint Germain won 2-0.
PARIS (AP) —
Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo
Ancelotti is playing down expectations ahead of Tuesday's Champions
League opener against Dynamo Kiev, despite a massive outlay on new
players having thrust the ambitious club firmly into the spotlight.
PSG's bid to become a European power has caught the
headlines after a spending spree of nearly €160 million to recruit
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Thiago Silva from Serie A among
other signings.
But Ancelotti, who won the Champions League with AC Milan as both a
player and a coach, wants to take the pressure off his expensive squad.
"I don't think we can say today that PSG is the favorite. I think we can
say that PSG has a lot of ambition and wants to do well in the biggest
competition in Europe," Ancelotti said Monday at a news conference. "We
have players with experience and we have a coach who has a lot of
experience. It's difficult to say what PSG can do in the Champions
League. We will learn match by match."
After beginning the season with three straight
draws, PSG has won its last two matches, including a 2-0 win against
Toulouse on Friday in which Ibrahimovic scored his fifth goal of the
season. The imposing Sweden striker has yet to win the Champions League
in a career in which he has also played for Inter Milan, Ajax and
Barcelona.
"My feelings haven't changed. I want to win it
because every trophy I play in I want to win," Ibrahimovic said. "A lot
of people spoke about the club this summer because of the transfers. We
have a very solid team that can go far."
Ibrahimovic played down his sudden departure from
Milan despite finishing as Serie A's top scorer last season. "Milan's a
big club, I'm just another player who came and went," he said. With
Ibrahimovic leading the attack, PSG will be expected to win a Group A
that also features Porto and Dinamo Zagreb. The Croatian side hosts
Porto on Tuesday.
Silva is expected to make his long-awaited debut at
center back and will likely play alongside countryman Alex, after
France center half Mamadou Sakho was ruled out with a thigh injury. "I'm
very disappointed not to play tomorrow," Sakho said. "It meant so much
to me, but I felt a small pain in my thigh the last time I played and,
along with the medical staff, we decided not to take any risks."
Ibrahimovic he has settled in quickly, but
moreimportantly for Ancelotti, the defense is getting stronger. "In four
matches, we have conceded only one goal, and that was from a set piece
situation," Ancelotti said.
Much is expected of PSG this season. But it is
already six points behind French leader Marseille, which has won all
five of its matches despite selling key players, rather than recruiting
superstars. PSG last played in the Champions League eight years ago,
where it went out in the group stage after losing at home to Chelsea and
CSKA Moscow.
Dynamo won 3-1 on Friday against Karpaty, with
midfielder Nico Kranjcar scoring twice. Dynamo knocked PSG out of the
UEFA Cup quarterfinals three years ago, but everything has changed at
PSG since then, with new owners from Qatar investing more than €260
million on transfers overall since taking over in June of last year.
Although PSG is heavily fancied, Dynamo defender
Taras Mykhalyk says his team is in a "fighting mood" and should take
inspiration from Ukraine's 1-1 draw away to England last week. "Ukraine
took the ball at Wembley and started to dominate in ball control," he
said. "We mustn't be afraid when we take the pitch to play in Paris."
Meanwhile, Dinamo Zagreb will hope for better
fortune than in last year's Champions League — although it could hardly
do worse. Dinamo lost all its matches in the group stage, conceding 22
goals — including seven in an embarrassing home thrashing by Lyon.
"We are outsiders, but we will do our best not to
lose," Dinamo coach Ante Cacic said. Dinamo is top of the league and
dropped points for only the second time this season when it drew 0-0 at
home to Osijek on Friday.
The draw also put an end to a formidable run of 11
consecutive wins, with Brazilian Sammir chipping in with eight goals
from midfield during that spell. Porto's attack, meanwhile, is not the
same since Hulk left to join Zenit St. Petersburg two weeks ago, despite
the club insisting that he would stay.
article source: http://www.mail.com/int/sports/soccer/1567506-ancelotti-psg-champions-league-favorite.html#.1258-stage-set1-4
Photo
credits:
Netherlands – Germany [Photograph]. (2012). Retrieved 15 November
2012, from <http://www.goal.com/en/match/80477/netherlands-vs-germany/report>
