Nine goals, monumental moments… but non-existent defenses and nevertheless alarming spectacle for football? This is the stance of Fred Hermel and Clarence Seedorf regarding Tuesday night’s PSG-Bayern, to which Daniel Riolo tried to respond on Wednesday in “l’After Foot” on RMC. “The main debate is about the coaches’ philosophy,” says the editorialist.
While facing almost unanimous approval for the quintessential football displayed in PSG-Bayern Munich (5-4) during the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday, some dissenting voices have emerged. Especially in England and France, where Clarence Seedorf and Fred Hermel revealed they did not quite enjoy this total football. Judged on the attack, and at the expense of the defensive aspect.
Controversial stances, to which Daniel Riolo tried to provide answers on Wednesday night, right after a less eventful Atletico Madrid-Arsenal match (1-1).
“Even though I find Seedorf’s statement very interesting, I don’t agree with him. Platini, to whom I sent a message, said: ‘For the general public it was very spectacular and many people enjoyed it. But indeed: where are the goalkeepers, and where are the defenders?’ Personally, I still believe I saw a very great match.”
“The main debate is about the coaches’ philosophy,” Riolo continues. “For years, I’ve been told ‘balance-imbalance’. I like the notion of imbalance brought by some coaches. Seeing full-backs who can no longer defend, who only know how to counter-attack, is an evolution of football. You have the right to consider that winning 4-3 is better than winning 1-0 because you implemented a defensive game. It’s just a football choice,” says the editorialist.
“I would be bothered if we only had matches like that, fireworks, where you have nothing but intensity, no control, no mastery or reflection. There, it was a one shot because, as Luis Enrique and (Vincent) Kompany said: they are in football reflections, in desires to play where they are ready – because they assume – to take risks and concede goals.”
Hermel and the “symbol of the TikTok era”
And Daniel Riolo concludes in this decisive debate: “If Seedorf is right, and Arsenal reach the final, and by playing as they do they beat Bayern or PSG, then I will applaud. Because you will have done something I, one, do not believe in; and two, that’s not my football. I will say congratulations. Just like I can have a special fondness for Atletico and what they have been doing for years – even if it’s the opposite of what I like in football.”
During the Estelle Midi show on RMC, Frederic Hermel had provided an analysis of PSG-Bayern far from the superlatives used by the vast majority of the football world. In contrast to the international press in awe, the journalist criticized this offensive festival, dubbed as a “symbol of the TikTok era.”
Clarence Seedorf, on the other hand, explained why he now sees Arsenal, if the Gunners overcome Atletico Madrid, winning the Champions League thanks to their ability not to concede many goals. Whether facing the Parisian or Bavarian armada.
