Yesterday the main Champions League tournament returns. One of the most anticipated matches will take place in Eindhoven, where PSV and "Manchester United" clubs return to the most powerful European football clubs tournament. The Eurofootball.com portal continues the tradition started last month and introduces you to the Champions League teams. This time under the magnifying glass - Eindhoven's PSV footballers.
Rich history
Sometimes it seems that many have forgotten the impressive history of the PSV club.
And it is not limited to achievements in local fronts, among which - 22 "Eredivisie" titles, 9 Dutch cups, and 10 Super Cups.
In addition to these achievements, PSV can boast winning the 1978 UEFA Cup and, of course, the 1988 European Cup, which is the equivalent of the Champions League of those times.
Meanwhile, the journey in the 2005 Champions League was one of the most impressive underdog stories in recent years.
PSV then marched all the way to the semi-finals, where they met the star-studded "Milan". Usually smaller teams in such situations try to compensate for the lack of talent with determination, patience, and use of their opportunities, but not in this semi-final.
The Eindhoven club pressed the gas against the powerful opponents and taking the overall view of both games, they were probably the better team than "Milan". Perhaps with Alex, Mark van Bommel, Park Ji-Sung, Jan Venegoor of Hesselink, and coach Guus Hiddink leading the team, that season they were indeed the strongest in Europe, but Massimo Ambrosini's goal in Eindhoven then blocked the hosts' path to the final.
No Depay - no problem?
Last year PSV swept everything they could on the local front and easily became Eredivisie champions.
But there is no secret that they are a selling club, so after such seasons, they often have to say goodbye to their most talented players.
The crown jewel was Memphis Depay, who yesterday was standing on the other side of the barricades and will play for "Manchester United".
His departure paved the way for the loss of two other key players. First, they failed to reach an agreement with "Manchester City" for the loan of defender Karim Rekik, who had spent the last two seasons at PSV and eventually moved to "Marseille".
Not a lesser, or perhaps even a greater loss than M. Depay - team captain and engine in midfield Georginio Wijnaldum.
PSV had to fill these gaps. M. Depay was replaced by Maxime Lestienne, G. Wijnaldum by D. Propper, and K. Rekik by Hector Moreno.
Coach Phillip Cocu's intentions regarding these players are clear. They were brought in to the starting lineup.
After losing stars, PSV stumbled a bit at the start of the season, but the champions gradually regain form, as evidenced by the victory last weekend with a score of 6-0 against "Cambuur" represented by Vytautas Andriuškevičius.
Forgotten in Newcastle, a star at home
When talking about PSV, we cannot fail to mention the team's forward Luuk De Jong.
He is still only 25, but this Dutchman has seen both warm and very cold moments in his career.
After the 2011-12 season when L. De Jong, playing for the "Twente" club, scored 25 goals in the league, he became a new star of Dutch football. That summer he moved to Borussia Gladbach, which had won the right to play in the Champions League qualifiers.
After a very mediocre first season in Germany, L. De Jong's career took a downturn. The highly unsuccessful first half of the 2013-14 season in Gladbach, after which he had the opportunity to revive his career at the "Newcastle United" club. There he moved on loan until the end of the season.
However, his lack of movement and inability to score became almost a joke, and the "Newcastle" club probably did not even consider the possibility of buying the forward.
To save L. De Jong's career, PSV stepped in. They did not regret it - in the Netherlands, the player returned to his best form and scored 20 goals in the championship-winning season.
This year, with no more M. Depay, even greater responsibility to score goals falls on the shoulders of the now PSV captain L. De Jong. He copes with it excellently and has already scored 5 goals this season.
Buying expensive forwards from the Netherlands is often risky. For every Ruud van Nistelrooy or Luis Suarez, there is one Afonso Alves or Alfred Finnbogason.
Very high scoring in the league often does not allow to have a real picture of the abilities of forwards playing there, so often a forward from the "Eredivisie" is like a cat in a bag - either it will work out or not.
In L. De Jong's case, it did not work out for the Borussia club, but now he proves that perhaps the Germans were partly to blame for his failure.
How will they line up?
Cocu's tactical schemes practically never change, so we will see PSV lining up in a 4-3-3 formation. The main question is which players will play.
It's not very difficult to answer this, as Cocu likes not only tactical stability but also consistency in choosing players. Last year he had an eleven that was significantly the best.
This year the essence doesn't change much, as the outgoing players were replaced by others who were also bought as starting eleven players.
Injuries and suspensions are the only things that change the PSV starting eleven. Yesterday there will certainly be no left-back Jetro Willems, as well as substitute left-back Florian Jozefzoon.
Another important player Adam Maher also has problems with injuries. He missed the weekend game against "Cambuur", but his participation in the Champions League is not yet decided. This will be done before the game.
The formation may vary only in the left winger position, where Cocu sometimes replaced the fast and technical M. Lestienne with the physically powerful forward Jurgen Locadia.
Possible PSV lineup for the match against "Manchester United":
Other articles about Champions League teams:
The war-torn Donbass "Shakhtar" - just a step away from the Champions League again
Ambitious "Monaco" faces the "Valencia" challenge
Manchester United opponents from Brugge - who are they?
