Seven months after the triumph in Munich, Vitinha has still not rewatched the Champions League final won 5-0 by PSG against Inter Milan. The Portuguese midfielder explained why to the outlet A Bola.

May 31, 2025. Munich. A date and a place forever engraved in the history of PSG and French football. After so many years of coveting it, PSG finally raised the trophy with the big ears by crushing Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final. Like a dream. Or better.

"I was just talking about it yesterday with friends," Vitinha confided last week to A Bola. "Can you imagine what a player thinks the night before he is going to play a Champions League final, when he tries to sleep? Thousands of scenarios go through his head, thousands of positive, negative scenarios, and in none of them, really none, were we going to win 5-0 in such an uncontested manner. It was one of the best days of my life."

This legendary match, Desire Doue has already rewatched it several times, as he acknowledged with a smile on the stage of the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Sunday when asked. This is not the case for Vitinha, who explained himself again in his wide-ranging interview given last Friday to A Bola.

READ MORE: PSG to Return to Ligue 1 Action With Up to 5 Players Absent vs. Paris FC

Vitinha Explains Why He Avoids Rewatching PSG's UCL Triumph: 'It's Over'

"I haven't watched it fully yet," revealed the Portuguese maestro. "I would love to, but it would keep me a bit stuck in the past. And we have to string together performances, every three days, win, be competitive, and I don't want to let myself get carried away by euphoria, I don't want to watch and... 'Ah!'... because it's over. It's true, it was great, but it's over. And if I stop for a moment to watch it... it's because it feels good, it flatters my ego, it feels good for my family, it feels good for everyone to see and say: 'Look what we accomplished!' But I will have to do it, either during my holidays or when I stop one day, because in the meantime, it would put me in a state I cannot afford. I have to stay vigilant, I have to want to do more and better. That's how it is, it's tiring, it's difficult, but it brings more results than just enjoying a Champions League final because it went well or reliving great moments, because that disconnects me from reality."

Vitinha also reflected on the approach to the final and how Luis Enrique had managed to condition his group: "The coach was essential. Two or three days before the match, what to say to the players? You are not going to motivate anyone for a Champions League final. And he did exactly the opposite. He tried to calm us down. He told us: 'Calm down, the one who wins this match will be the one who is closest to 100 percent, meaning you, you will be at 150, 160, 170, but come back down to earth, because they will be at 120, 130. When you desire something so strongly, sometimes you freeze. You realize you really want something, you really want to win, and sometimes it's counterproductive.' It was perfectly logical, and I think it was the key. It brought us back down. 'Be at 100 percent, but not more. It would be counterproductive. It would work against us. Don't forget: it's just a match. I know it's important. We can't say the Champions League final is not important, but life goes on.'"

A recurring theme with Luis Enrique, which hit home with his players: "'Life goes on'... I understand his speech perfectly," Vitinha concedes. "And I agree. Life goes on. We know it's extremely important. I'm not going to elaborate here on what it means for us, especially after the journey we have made, but I really thought, 'If they give everything they have and we are more relaxed, even if it's not at 100 percent, they will be too far above us.' That's largely what happened. I saw their faces, and I felt they didn't understand what was happening. They wanted to give, but they couldn't. They were frozen. And we also had the luck to score early. And then, things unfolded supernaturally."

Join The Conversation

Roundtablesports is Free to join! You can post your own thoughts, comment on articles, and start conversations with our Roundtable Writers. Scroll up to the top of the page and click 'Join'.

Download the FREE Roundtable APP, and get even easier access to your favourite teams and news!