“I’m really proud”
©IMAGO
“The fans were there at my first game and they are still there today. There have been good times and bad times, but it’s great to have reached this milestone. I’m really proud, my family is proud and the fans are too,” said Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos on Wednesday evening after the 5-3 Champions League win against Tottenham. The goal festival not only cemented the defending champion’s place in the top group of the premier league table, but was also the 500th game for the 31-year-old defense chief since his €31.4 million move from Roma to PSG in the summer of 2013.
Marquinhos has long been the Parisians’ record player: Jean-Marc Pilorget, who held this rank for a long time, made 436 appearances between 1975 and 1989. The Brazilian international also moves into an illustrious circle of players from the 18 current Ligue 1 clubs: only eleven other professionals from the French first division clubs played at least 500 games for their club. Marquinhos can overtake three of them this season: Frédéric Da Rocha, who played 508 times for FC Nantes, Grégory Coupet, who guarded Olympique Lyon’s goal 520 times, and Sylvain Kastendeuch, FC Metz icon with 524 games.
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As things stand, Marquinhos then has at least two more years to expand his status as a legend of French football. He will no longer be able to get close to Jean-Luc Ettori (754 appearances for Monaco) and it will probably be difficult for Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes (651 for Nantes), Henri Michel (640 for Nantes) or Steve Mandanda (613 for Olympique Marseille). The defensive man is no longer seeded this season, at least in the league, and was only on the field in five of 13 possible games – he missed three due to injury.
Coach Luis Enrique gives his veteran player more frequent breaks. In the last two years, Marquinhos has only played 21 and 22 times in the league, mainly due to injuries. However, ex-Nantes professional Patrice Rio (537 appearances), Serge Chiesa (547 for Lyon) and Eric Sikora (586 for RC Lens) are quite realistic for PSG, who notoriously go far in all cup competitions. If Marquinhos also manages 600 for PSG, Loïc Amisse (602 appearances for Nantes) won’t be far either. “It shows my passion and I think the fans are happy when a player gives everything for the jersey. I wanted to win tonight and hoped we wouldn’t concede a goal. That wasn’t possible, but we still had a good evening,” said the Brazilian.