Eight Trophies in Two Seasons: Is The Sacking Of Laurent Blanc By PSG Unfair?

BY EWAH CHIKA

"Two hours before the return leg in Manchester (PSG lost 3-2 on aggregate to Manchester City), I knew we were going to lose . I did not feel the players were really hungry. Whose fault is this? 

"I have supported Blanc for three years. Now we have to think about what we are going to do next season to build a group that will be stronger at European level. 

"I will not discuss individual cases. Big changes will come. A new cycle will start," were the words of PSG's President concerning the future of French man Laurent Blanc at the club . 

This is coming after Blanc lost in the quarter-final of the Champions League for the third time in his three years at the club and the fourth time in a row for the club. Although Blanc made history last season by becoming the first coach in French Ligue 1 to win the treble for the second successive time (Ligue 1, French Cup and League Cup) this was considered unacceptable and a minor feat by the owners as the Champions League is their priority. 

The statement of the President is in sharp contrast to that of defensive midfielder Thiago Motta who had this to say , "it's hard to hear that (Blanc's rumoured sacking), especially after we still won eight trophies with him the last two seasons." Blanc had only signed a contract extension in February only to be sacked with a £17 million pay-off on Wednesday according to French news outlet, L'Equipe. Le President as he was fondly called during his playing days in Marseille for his leadership qualities took  over from Carlo Ancelotti in 2013 who was only able to win the double in his 18 months at the club.  

With millions splashed on stars like Edison Cavani, Angel Di Maria, David Luiz, Serge Aurier, Lucas Digne, Lucas Moura , the PSG board might have expected the club to challenge the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona rather than fall short when the going was tough. In his three years at the club, Blanc lost out to Chelsea (2014), Barcelona (2015) and then Manchester City (2016) all at the same stage of the competition without putting in a fight. A further look at the likes of Atletico Madrid under Argentine Diego Simeone and Juventus under Maximiliano Allegri show a team that have reached the Champions League final three times (Atletico -twice and Juventus -Once) in the last three years with little or no spending when compared with PSG . 

Blanc is a seasoned coach having won the Ligue 1 in 2009 with Bordeaux after replacing Ricardo Gomes in 2007. The former Manchester United player also reached the Champions League quarter-final before losing to Lyon after topping a group that had the likes of Juventus and Bayern Munich in the 2009/2010 season. 

It is difficult to quantify if the sacking of Blanc was fair considering his success in the local league but considering the fact that he had failed three different times in Europe which is more of a priority to the Qatari owners then one will understand why Basque born Unai Emery who has won the Europa League twice successively is the favourite to replace him. Blanc has done his part and his achievements applauded but perhaps it was the right decision to part with him considering PSG are more interested in conquering Europe. However , Whether or not Emery is the right man for the job is a topic for another day.