DESCRIPTION. How Vitinha became the new maestro of PSG once again champions of France

He has yet to make Marco Verratti forget at PSG, but he is well on his way to doing so. Constantly juggling between the sidelines and tenure until the end of November 2023, in a few months Vitinha became the cornerstone of PSG and Luis Enrique’s system. As proof, the 24-year-old Portuguese is the second most used outfielder (3,109 minutes played) by the Spanish coach, behind Kylian Mbappé (3,374 minutes).

However, imagining him behind the star Mbappé was far from obvious if we look in the rearview mirror, a year ago. After a mixed first year in the capital, rightly criticized for his lack of character, Vitinha was even surprised by the Messi clan and above all by Neymar. “He was abhorrent to Vitinha. The Portuguese refused, because he is nice and didn’t want any problems, but on several occasions he was insulted.”said a witness The team .

“Vitinha adapts perfectly to what we are looking for”

The departures of Messi and Neymar have obviously benefited Vitinha the most, who has become indispensable in the Parisian midfield. As brilliant in the guard position as in the relay position, the former Porto player is equipped with very valuable versatility for PSG. “Vitinha is a player who adapts perfectly to what we are looking for, to our idea of ​​play, he is versatile, he does not lose the ball. He is complete with and without the ball, he also plays according to his teammates,” had on March 9 entrusted Luis Enrique, who appreciates the technical ease, mobility and ability to get rid of the opposition pressure of the Portuguese.

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The PSG coach would also be very impressed with Vitinha’s ability to put together high-intensity matches without getting injured and with the same quality of play. “He has unlimited energy. He will train with those who did not play the next day, said the Spanish technician. “Vitinha takes on an extraordinary dimension. Everything he does is impressive. With his intelligence, his aggressiveness, his vision, he is a super sentinel. The first thing I look for in a midfielder is whether he always wants the ball. This is his business” deciphered for So Foot Didier Domi, left side trained at PSG.

Internally, Vitinha asserts itself more and more

Good defensively and also capable of scoring goals, Vitinha also takes up more space in the dressing room over time. Completely erased during his first year in Paris, the 24-year-old is today “capable of bringing contradiction when he disagrees”, relate The Parisian also talks about one “everyday application” Portuguese and a “safe character”.

The PSG midfielder, who would have wanted to become a coach if he hadn’t made it as a player, lives, talks and eats football almost every day. Vitinha is a tactician and a fan of Andres Iniesta. Vitinha regularly debriefs meetings with his coach Luis Enrique, even going through certain very specific gestures.

Discreet in life, “far from the star system”specifies his sister ParisianVitinha is currently in the spotlight due to his leading role in the current success of PSG, who have just been crowned champions of France.

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But Luis Enrique still sees room for improvement in his new “favourite”. ” We make high demands on him and we believe he can still improve, score more goals (9 goals, 5 assists) », the Spaniard estimated. And if Vitinha still has some left under his belt, Paris could have a very big future there.