00:00Let's go live on, yeah.
00:00Yeah, yeah, sure.
00:09Good evening, everyone.
00:11Welcome to our press conference on the eve of the second game in the group stage.
00:19Manchester against the Paris Saint-Germain.
00:21We have Usman Dimbiri with us.
00:22Please ask your questions, either in English or in French.
00:25Hi, Usman.
00:31Well, last time we saw you was the game you played against Belgium or France.
00:37Then you've been given some time off.
00:39And have you made the most of that time off?
00:42Do you feel a lot better now?
00:44Hi, everyone.
00:47Well, yeah, I spoke to the coach.
00:51And he said he would allow me to rest for a few days.
00:55So I spent time with my family.
00:57I rested with my friends as well, of course.
01:01And so it's been a really nice moment.
01:04Restful.
01:05And that's about it.
01:08Nothing else to say about it.
01:09I had a nice break.
01:12Hi, Usman.
01:15I'm Stefan.
01:18There's Desiree Douai.
01:21Loves the ball at his feet.
01:23Really good dribbler.
01:25Now, you're an expert in all of this as well.
01:27What do you think about him?
01:30Where would you rank him as the dribbler?
01:33Is he one of the best dribblers in the world?
01:36Well, Desiree Douai quite clearly is one of the most talented players in the world.
01:42No doubt.
01:43We know about his ability to dribble, to score, to put through an excellent pass, decisive passes.
01:52And that's why we bought him, after all, isn't it?
01:54That's why PSG bought him.
01:56And I think he's an incredible player.
01:58Very, very talented indeed.
02:01He has a magnificent career ahead of him.
02:04I mean, don't get me wrong, he's already scored in the final of the Champions League, of course.
02:08He's already played some really good games at the highest possible level.
02:12Now, in terms of dribbling, well, there's quite a few players who dribble really well.
02:16It's not that easy to do what he does, but he's really talented, as I've already said.
02:21And also, mentally, he's got a great attitude as well.
02:25Top player.
02:26I think he's going to have a fantastic career.
02:28Fantastic career.
02:29Hi, Osman.
02:30I'm from the Keep newspaper.
02:32You often say, sometimes you say you haven't, you don't play enough.
02:37You're desperate to play.
02:38But you have had a bit of time off since the beginning of the season.
02:41Isn't that a little bit contrary to what you often say?
02:45Well, no.
02:45As I said, I spoke to the coach after the national team game against Belgium.
02:53And, yeah, sure, he accepted my request and said, that's okay.
02:58Don't worry about playing on Saturday.
03:00There's nothing really more to say about it.
03:02I don't think I need to add anything else.
03:06He was happy with it.
03:07I was happy with it.
03:08Of course, I'm very competitive.
03:09I love playing football.
03:11I want to play every game.
03:12Don't get me wrong.
03:13But, you know, we're talking about 70, 80-odd games in a season.
03:17And you can't play all of them after all.
03:20And so he knows what he's doing.
03:23He knows all about our workload, whether that's for me or for all of the other players in the squad
03:27as well.
03:29And, obviously, you know, we have to trust him.
03:31We have to trust the manager on these things.
03:34Hi, Osman.
03:36I'm from Radio France.
03:43So, you'll be coming up against Donnarumma, who you've played with many long years at Paris Saint-Germain.
03:50What's that going to be like, playing against Donnarumma?
03:52And what's your memories like of him?
03:55Well, excellent.
03:56I have got a really excellent relationship with him.
04:01Excellent memory of him.
04:03He's the number one in the world.
04:05Exceptional goalkeeper.
04:06Really good.
04:08And I wasn't able to attend his wedding, unfortunately, this summer.
04:12But we exchanged messages.
04:14He said, Gigi O is a great friend.
04:16He's a spectacular goalkeeper.
04:18He can change an entire team and change the outcome of a game just by pulling off a miraculous save,
04:26coming out, and what have you.
04:27Yeah, he's an incredible goalkeeper, no doubt about it.
04:34But you've played a lot of games the last couple of years.
04:38And do you now feel that you need a little bit more time to recover?
04:42Or do you want to still play every single game?
04:45Well, as I've already said, over the last couple of seasons, I think we've played 50-odd games at least.
04:54And particularly if you get to the final of all the competitions you're playing.
04:56So we've played a lot of games over the last two years.
04:59But as I've already said, the manager makes decisions on who plays, who doesn't play.
05:05He's really good at managing our workload.
05:08That goes for all members of the team.
05:10He knows what I need, what I don't need, as do I.
05:13I really don't think it's an issue at all.
05:15I mean, he makes me laugh more than anything else.
05:17So people keep asking questions about it.
05:23OK, from Radio France this time.
05:27Well, this game against Manchester City, is it your first big test of the season for you?
05:33So that you can try and gauge how you're doing by playing against a big Premier League team?
05:39Well, it's a big game, obviously, against a very good team.
05:43Very, very good players, of course.
05:45Excellent coach as well.
05:46It goes without saying.
05:48So it won't be easy.
05:50It won't be easy tomorrow playing Manchester City.
05:52But we'll be well prepared for the game.
05:54And we're going to try and take the three points home, after all.
05:57Obviously.
05:59It's not a decisive game at this stage, of course.
06:02But nevertheless, it is a game that we're going to want to win.
06:05We're competitors.
06:06We want to win every single game we play in.
06:09But we'll be well prepared for the game tomorrow.
06:12And we know what to expect as well, I think.
06:14Hi, Usman.
06:18Yeah, just picking up on what my colleague said.
06:21You want to win the treble again this year?
06:24This is your first big match this season.
06:26Is this the match where you'll be sending out a message to the rest of Europe saying,
06:30we're here, we're ready, we're ready to go.
06:32Finally, on the cylinders.
06:33Well, no, I don't think it's a question of sending a message out to the rest of Europe.
06:37We're only in October.
06:39We've got a long season ahead of us.
06:42You've seen what's happened over the last couple of seasons, after all.
06:46You've seen the periods of the year, which really do count.
06:48I mean, this counts as well, because in the past we've experienced a couple of difficulties
06:53coming out of the, getting out of the group.
06:55We've had to play in the playoffs, so we'd like to try and finish in the top eight this
06:59time around.
07:00But it's not the end of the world if we have to play playoffs, as long as you win them,
07:04of course, which we did.
07:05But yeah, it's a big game against a very good team, against some quality players.
07:11So we're going to be well prepared.
07:14And over the next couple of weeks or so, there are going to be other games which are
07:17going to be tough and a real challenge for us as well.
07:21But we're quite calm about it, and we're well prepared.
07:26Well, a lot of people have spent about your rest, as it were, over the last few days.
07:31And you've also played extremely well in Champions League thus far, and in the French
07:37top league.
07:38What do you think about your beginning, your start to the season?
07:42Pretty good.
07:43I'm really happy with my start to the season.
07:44I have to say, as I've already said, we're still only in October, though.
07:48We're still only in October.
07:49And so we're playing our games, going about our business calmly.
07:54I'm very calm about what's going to happen in the future as well.
07:59And I'm happy as well.
08:00I'm happy that the team is playing well, of course.
08:04And we have to react.
08:07You know, there's a couple of games we didn't win in Ligue 1, and the top division in France.
08:11And now we need to reach our cruising speed.
08:13Reach our cruising speed so that we play well, we're well prepared going into all of the games,
08:20and so that we're well equipped to deal with the games coming up as well.
08:25It's difficult, but I'm pretty laid back about it.
08:28I'm very calm, very serene in my mind.
08:30And then the team itself, I think the team is playing well.
08:36We've got spread on board some new players, and they've fitted in pretty quickly and extremely well.
08:41But, you know, let's not get away.
08:43It's still only the first part of the season.
08:47You know, we've got plenty of games to come.
08:48Hi, Usman.
08:52One thing which has come to the denominator over the last three years is that you start off quite slowly.
09:04But now, is it almost a question that you've flicked a switch and all of a sudden you're going to
09:08really take off?
09:09Well, I'm not sure about that, but we are competitors after all.
09:13We always want to win all of the games we play in, and sometimes it's difficult.
09:18You know, we have to realise we're playing tough opponents as well, opponents which mostly we know about.
09:24But our team, yeah, we're pretty calm in this moment in time, and we know that when the important moments
09:34crop up,
09:36then we'll have to express our quality, show what we're capable of.
09:39But for time being, things are going pretty well in Ligue 1, and I think we've won the last three
09:45games on the trot in the Champions League.
09:47We got off to a great start in our first game.
09:49We know we have some tough games ahead of us, but as I've already said, we're facing all that with
09:54a great deal of calmness,
09:55and we're very much focused on what's going to be coming up.
09:59Hi, Osman.
10:02Manchester City is a pretty specific game because I think it was the game a few years ago which enabled
10:09you to go on and win your first Champions League.
10:12And it's a very special game for you as well.
10:16You spoke about Donnarumma being a big friend.
10:18Have you already been in touch with Gio and said you're going to try and score against him?
10:23Have you already been talking to him about it?
10:26Well, listen, I missed a chance against him when I played against Italy in the international break,
10:36and he made fun of me a little bit.
10:38But he's a wonderful goalkeeper, world-class goalkeeper.
10:41But he showed that even before he came to PSG, playing for the national team when he won the Euro,
10:47of course.
10:47I think he was a player of the tournament when he won the Euro.
10:50And so, yeah, he's a top goalkeeper.
10:53And as I've already said, Manchester City are a big team, one of the top teams as well.
10:59They have excellent players.
11:00They've gone off to a flying start in the Premier League as well and in the Champions League, of course.
11:05So we know what to expect, I think, tomorrow.
11:08Final question, please, for Osman Dimbani.
11:11Merci.
11:11Bonjour, Ousmane.
11:12Une question en anglais, s'il vous plaît.
11:14You come at a very unique time for Manchester City.
11:18There's a lot going on around the club.
11:20Is it a good time for you to play them as a group or a bad time?
11:25Non, c'est toujours difficile de jouer face à...
11:28Well, I think it's always difficult, regardless whether it's a good moment or a bad moment in time.
11:33It's always tough.
11:34They have a high-quality team, world-class players, and they have a top coach as well.
11:45So regardless of whether or not we're playing in a good or bad moment for them, it doesn't really matter.
11:49It's always tough playing Manchester City.
11:51Okay.
11:52Thank you very much.
11:55Thank you very much.
11:57Thank you very much.
