PSG motivated by historic opportunity – Douchez

Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez believes the opportunity to create French football history spurred Laurent Blanc’s team on as Saturday’s Coupe de France victory secured an unprecedented treble.

Having lifted the Coupe de la Ligue with a 4-0 defeat of Bastia in April and then wrapping up the Ligue 1 title for a third successive year, only Auxerre stood between the club and a clean sweep.

The second-tier side frustrated PSG for over an hour at the Stade de France, with goalkeeper Donovan Leon catching the eye as he thwarted Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

But Cavani eventually broke the deadlock in the 64th minute, beating Leon with a powerful header to secure France’s first ever domestic treble, and Douchez feels the chance to make history proved a great motivator.

“It’s the joy of pride,” he is quoted as saying by RMC Sport. “It is something unique to share with the fans.

“We knew we were going to go down in history if we won, and it was a source of additional motivation.”

PSG and Blanc were not strangers to criticism earlier on in the season and midfielder Blaise Matuidi was happy to silence the club’s doubters with Saturday’s win.

“It’s fantastic, it was a great season,” he added. “We had a lot of critics, but we have shown that we are still there [at the top].

“Let’s enjoy, this is a great moment. We are really proud of what we have done.”