Four days after celebrating its centenary with a victory against Montpellier (2-1), which allows it to occupy second place in the French championship behind Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco (ASM) returns to the Champions League this Wednesday (C1). October 2, with a trip to Dinamo Zagreb. A second success, after the prestigious one achieved against FC Barcelona (2-1), would bring the club closer to qualifying for the next round.
The priority remains Ligue 1, according to Thiago Scuro. The Brazilian general director of ASM, who arrived at the Rock in July 2023, still refuses to talk about the search for the title, but wants to guarantee that his club qualifies each year for C1, a competition that it has not contested since then. 2018.
ASM is second in Ligue 1 and had a good start in the Champions League. Are you fully satisfied with the start of the season?
Yes, we are. From the beginning of the preseason we had a great concern: not to let the Champions League be a distraction from our main objective, which is the championship. With the return of C1, the competition draw, the club’s centenary, there was obviously a lot of excitement. But we have sent the message internally that the priority is to finish in the top three of Ligue 1. The club has lacked consistency in recent seasons and the challenge we have in the medium term is for ASM to compete in the Champions League all the years.
Focusing mainly on Ligue 1 did not prevent them from beating FC Barcelona in C1…
It was very special, a moment that we will remember for the rest of our lives. We sold out all the tickets for that game in six minutes. When you have a whole stadium behind the team, it’s easier. It means a lot to the players to be able to play in the Champions League. And if the goal is Ligue 1, obviously we want to take advantage of this competition to show what we can do. We hope to see more evenings like this.
ASM will play four affordable matches in the Champions League: Dinamo Zagreb, Red Star Belgrade, Bologna and Benfica. Can you aim for the top eight places in the “league” phase, the first phase of the competition?
They will not be easy games, some of these rivals will play at home, in front of their fans. We had to fight against Barcelona and we will have to do the same afterwards, with the same intensity. We believe we are capable of qualifying for the play-offs [qui verront s’affronter les équipes qui ont terminé entre la 9ᵉ et la 24ᵉ place, sur 36]. When I say that the priority is Ligue 1, it does not mean that we have no ambition for C1. But we see this as an opportunity. If we qualify for the play-offs, we will see what we can do there.
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