The Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain on Sunday is a clash between two of The fashionable giants of European football, but in terms of football history, it is French club the newcomer.
This will not be PSG’s first definitive prize in the competition, but it arrives 11 days after celebrating its 50th anniversary as a club.
Bayern are 120 years old, while Liverpool, winner of last year, was formed in 1892.
In fact, when Bayern won the first of their five European Cup titles in 1973, PSG was 3 years old and playing in the French 3rd division.
While French football has a long and rich history, the capital is visibly absent from the elite, and Parisians seem un interested in gambling, while provincial clubs such as St Etienne and Reims have enjoyed continental success.
Those in the capital who followed the attack benefited from brief moments of promise for the smaller and oldest classic clubs, Red Star and Racing Club, until the creation of the PSG.
The merger of the new Paris Football Club and the Stade Saint-Germanois in 1970 created a team for the converted population of the capital. A victory in the Coupe de France came here in 1982 and four years later they won their first championship title.
With that of the television company Canal Plus, the club has attracted the most productive skill such as the winger David Ginola and the Liberian striker George Weah.
In 1996, the club made its mark on the foreign scene with a team consisting of Brazilian midfielder Rai and French foreigner Youri Djorkaeff who won the European Cup Winners’ Cup with a 1-0 win over Vienna’s Rapid.
PSG began attracting big names with the arrival of Ronaldinho in 2001, but the key moment of substitution came 10 years later, when Qatar Sports Investment took over the club.
Qatar is a massive investment in skill and more sensitive coaches, as they sought to create a ‘superclub’ to adapt to global brands such as Barcelona and Real Madrid.
David Beckham finished his career at PSG, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic brought his huge personality to Paris and, nationally, the club dominated the French league, winning seven of the last eight championships.
However, success in Europe has been more difficult to find. Despite all the money spent, adding a world record of 222 million euros for Brazilian Neymar, PSG failed to succeed in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Victories against Italy’s Atalanta and Germany’s RB Leipzig propelled Thomas Tuchel’s team, driven by hero Kylian Mbappé, to a position in the most important game of club football.
Luis Fernández, who played for the club in the 70s and 80s and coach of the team that won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996, appreciates the meaning of history.
“Generations stick to each other, but one can feel that those who have lived our adventure know it and enjoy it,” he said.
“I also don’t forget to bet in the Champions League either. It’s a wonderful night of football, it’s another approach. Every year, there are expectations. We open the way with the European Cup Winners’ Cup.”
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