Christophe Galtier’s job at Paris Saint-Germain may be under threat with the one-time Tottenham Hotspur target suffering a dispiriting Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich in midweek, according to RMC Sport.
It’s never a good sign when one of your senior players appears to be questioning your tactics in public, especially after such a demoralising home loss.
But veteran midfielder Danilo said what most in the Parc des Princes must have been thinking after PSV turned in a passive, feeble performance in front of their own supporters; a winner from former academy graduate Kingsley Coman a classic case of salt in the wounds.
“You shouldn’t be afraid to be more offensive,” Danilo said at full-time; PSG managing just 46 per cent of the possession and nine shots to Bayern’s 18.
In the space of just one week, PSG have crashed out of the Coupe de France, had their lead cut in Ligue 1, and saw their hopes of a long-awaited Champions League title suffer a major blow. Five defeats in 2023. Three in a row. This is PSG’s worst run in 12 years.
Could Tottenham go back for Christophe Galtier when Conte leaves?
And Galtier, one of the club’s more low-profile managerial appointments, may now be in grave danger of suffering the same fate that befell Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel, Carlo Ancelotti and co unless PSG do what so many teams have done to them on Europe’s biggest stage and turn tie around at the Allianz Arena on March 8th.
Galtier, RMC say, will remain in charge until that second-leg clash in Munich. Fall at the first knockout hurdle, however, and PSG may once again have Zinedine Zidane’s phone ringing off the hook.
According to The Standard, Galtier was a candidate to take over from Jose Mourinho at Tottenham during the summer of 2021, before the ill-fated appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo and the subsequent arrival of Antonio Conte.
Now, with Conte’s own future under scrutiny – his contract expiring in July – the potential availability of a man who guided Lille to the 2021 Ligue 1 title at PSG’s expense (ironically enough) is unlikely to go unnoticed for long.
‘Galtier is fumbling’
Galtier is an outstanding coach. A three-time Ligue 1 Manager of the Year. Galtier transformed St Etienne into European challengers, and made champions out of Lille. If you judged every head coach by their PSG spell, then Pochettino, Tuchel and Ancelotti would not come out smelling of roses either.
But Danilo is not the only one raising questions about Galtier’s suitability for one of football’s biggest jobs.
“He had it all wrong (against Bayern), from start to finish,” former France ace Jerome Rothen tells RMC. “He was completely screwed up. I’m not saying he was right from the start of the season. But there was at least a mindset with the hatred of defeat. The team refused to lose.
“But since the resumption (after the Qatar World Cup), PSG have had five defeats.”
“(Galtier) preferred to play an extremely defensive 4-4-2,” adds 1998 World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit. “We should have played in 3-5-2.
“Galtier is fumbling, he does not know what to do because the players have the power in the dressing room. This is the sad observation that we make every year.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
