Mamadou Sakho Torn Over Liverpool vs. Paris Saint-Germain Tie
The former Liverpool and PSG defender says the winner of the Round of 16 tie will be favoured to win the Champions League this season.
Former Liverpool centre half Mamadou Sakho may have come up through the Paris Saint-Germain academy and then spent six seasons as a first team player for the Parisians, but he says his heart won’t let him choose between the two for their upcoming Round of 16 Champions League tie.
What the 35-year-old who moved to Torpedo Kutaisi in the Georgian league to extend his career this season does expect is a difficult pair of matches for both sides, and Sakho says both PSG’s Parc des Princes and Liverpool’s Anfield are amongst the most difficult stadiums for an opponent.
“The difference, perhaps, will be made by the fans,” Sakho said to La Parisian about the upcoming tie. “The atmosphere at the Parc des Princes is special and Liverpool’s players will have to be ready to withstand it. And conversely, the Parisians will remember their return match in Liverpool.
“Whether they win or lose, a match there is always a unique experience. When you play there, you don’t forget it. I think that the winner of this tie will not only be favourites for the final victory, but it is a tie that will be remembered, and my heart will not lean to one side—I will feel as Red as Blue.”
Sakho spent three seasons with the Reds before falling out with Jürgen Klopp shortly after the manager arrived at the club, but Anfield and the Liverpool community made an impact on him despite his comparatively short time on Merseyside and he says those memories remain special and unique.
“Paris is a capital with many other things than a football club,” he noted. “Liverpool is a city where football is the only thing that matters. Paris is a little less of a football city because it is made up of inhabitants who are not all from the city, and the identity is necessarily a little less strong.
“Liverpool is more of a terroir. A comparison would be with Naples, for example, where football is also a passion. Liverpool is a big village. Children were born there, grandparents still live there, there are places in the Kop passed down from generation to generation. It really is a tradition.
“So it is necessarily different from Paris. Anfield is a village like Liverpool and so I, by the way, still talk and think about that Liverpool country.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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