Ultimate Guide to PSG's 2016/17 Season
On Friday night, Paris Saint-Germain make the journey to Corsica to open the defence of their Ligue 1 title against SC Bastia.
It's not the toughest of fixtures, but the Stade Armand Cesari is never the easiest place to go, especially for a game against the new-look islanders.
Another league title, PSG's fifth consecutive crown, will be expected. However, the club will truly be judged by how they perform in the UEFA Champions League.
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In trying to improve their fortunes in the competition, president Nasser Al-Khelaifi went big in the summer, changing things up, and the club has a different feel about it.
Change isn't always good, but already the signs are positive.
Unai Emery has replaced Laurent Blanc as the new head coach. He joins from Spanish side Sevilla, and his resume includes three consecutive UEFA Europa League crowns.
PSG are hoping that he can take that success and transfer it over to the Champions League, with the coach and the club making the jump up to the next level.
In order to help him do that, PSG have also installed a director of football. Emery had great joy working with the masterful Monchi at Sevilla, and now he will have to work with Dutch footballing legend Patrick Kluivert.
Bringing in the former Barcelona, Ajax and Newcastle United striker into such a key position is a bold move for the Parisians. He has no real experience at this level and no ties to the club.
The appointment doesn't make a lot of sense, but the club clearly feel it is the right move. As he would anywhere, Kluivert will be judged on results.
Emery has brought his own managerial team into the club, hoping to replicate the results he has enjoyed in Spain. That includes his trusted assistant coach, Juan Carlos Carcedo, who has worked with the Spaniard at Almeria, Valencia and Sevilla.
"Unai always wants to work. He's a football fanatic, and when you love this sport, it can take up all your time!" Carcedo told PSG's website. "We try to get the players to keep progressing, we try to achieve a balance in the team and we look to be solid in defence—all so that we can win, of course."
To bring that balance, it looks like we will see a new formation at the Parc des Princes. Laurent Blanc favoured the 4-3-3, and with the players he used it was sometimes restrictive and predictable, especially against the bigger European sides.
"PSG going 4-2-3-1, Lucas Moura, Pastore & Di Maria as the three behind the striker. Now that is deadly!
— Joel (@KanteStop) August 6, 2016"
Emery has installed his 4-2-3-1 during the pre-season fixtures, and it looked to have settled well among the players in their 4-1 win over Olympique Lyonnais in last weekend's Trophee des Champions season opener.
Even without a recognised centre-forward, the football was quick and decisive, and the attack looked free-flowing and devastating.
He still has to find a way to incorporate his new signings with regulars like Marco Verratti and Edinson Cavani, but it's a good problem to have.
What the win against Lyon showed, although it's early days, is that this team will no longer revolve around a talismanic talent like it did with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede has moved on to the Premier League, and the impressive squad assembled by Emery will look to become greater than the sum of its parts, rather than focus and rely on Zlatan.
Towards the end of last season, PSG's play was a little stale. Even in games they were expected to win, they did so without style and grace, just doing enough.
The signings that Emery has made should breathe new life into the squad. It also feels like a few of the younger players are going to have chances to impress—something that Blanc failed to do—which means more competition for places, and that should keep everyone on their toes.
The emergence of Adrien Rabiot into the first team last term, plus the signing of Grzegorz Krychowiak from Sevilla, will shake up the midfield.
No longer will Blaise Matuidi, Verratti and Thiago Motta be automatic picks. Emery has options and versatility, and it will be interesting to see how he blends it all together.
In defence, Layvin Kurzawa has made an excellent case that he should be the starting left-back, with veteran Maxwell playing as his back-up. His storming runs down the wing work perfectly with Emery's formation. This could be his breakout year in the French capital.
Hatem Ben Arfa, another new signing, has been rewarded for an excellent campaign with OGC Nice. The 29-year-old was signed by PSG on a free transfer and has been given the chance to prove all the doubters wrong.
Failed spells at Newcastle United and Hull City were cast aside with a tremendous turnaround in the south of France, but it is now up to the former Marseille and Lyon playmaker to show that it was not a one-off and that he has the ability and mentality to perform, improve and dictate play at the highest level.
Someone else who will slightly be feeling the pressure to succeed this season is Javier Pastore. The Argentinian playmaker was PSG's first big-money signing in the Qatar Sports Investments era, which spent €42 million to bring him from Palermo in Italy's Serie A to the Parc des Princes. It is fair to say he hasn't quite fulfilled his potential.
Handed the coveted No. 10 jersey by Emery, this could be the year that we finally see the best of Pastore. He was immense in the Trophee des Champions victory, but his magical ability to do the impossible needs to be seen on a consistent basis, not one-off moments of greatness.
With the departure of Ibrahimovic, the goalscoring duties have been passed to Uruguayan striker Cavani.
The former Napoli man scored 19 goals in Ligue 1 last season but failed to make an impact in the biggest, high-pressure games, and there are many who doubt his ability to lead this team to the next level.
He now has competition from Jese Rodriguez, who has signed on a five-year deal from Real Madrid. Although not a traditional centre-forward, he will likely play through the middle—as well as on the wings—and if Cavani isn't finding the back of the net, Emery showed on Saturday that he doesn't necessarily need a No. 9 to play with menace.
Add to that the exploits and superb potential of Jean-Kevin Augustin and Cavani should have enough competition to either make or break his Parisian career.
Failure to score over 20 league goals, combined with a prominent role in PSG reaching at least the quarter-finals of the Champions League, would be seen as a failure for El Matador—but it will be up to Emery as much as the forward to get the best out of the 29-year-old.
This club will target at least two domestic trophies, not counting the Trophee des Champions. Reaching the last eight of Europe's elite competition will be the aim, but the draw is always a factor. More importantly, PSG will be judged on their performances.
Should they limp out like they did against Manchester City, it will be interesting to see how ruthless Al-Khelaifi will be and how much time Emery gets to enforce his philosophy on his new club.
