France vs Portugal: Interview with Pauleta & Papin

Jean-Pierre and Pedro, seeing you side by side, we can’t help but imagine what your partnership on the field could have been like...

Papin: For me, our duo would have worked without any problem!

Pauleta: Of course we could have played together. It would have been an honor. I had the chance to know Jean-Pierre in Bordeaux. And I’d like to point out that he was someone I admired a lot as a player. There are different levels among strikers, and he reached the level of a Ballon d’Or (1991). I believe all good players can get along.

Papin: A duo is primarily a matter of willingness: wanting to share with the other. Pairing us up front would have been hard for many teams to counter. It was already difficult for defenders to handle each of us individually, so together... When you have the chance to play with someone like Pedro, you know that in terms of finishing, it’s just perfect. Having two scorers together, I think it would have been a real joy!

More concretely, how would you have organised yourselves on the pitch? 

Papin: I would have left Pedro in front of the goal as a true number 9 so that I could move around him. That’s how we could have best utilized our qualities. I relied more on my speed than Pedro did. He didn’t express his great qualities in runs – although he was quite fast – while for me, runs were a key part of my game. Pedro was a "penalty box" number 9 (Pedro nods). Since we don’t have the same qualities, we would have been 200% compatible! Actually, our only common point was scoring goals...

Pauleta: Indeed, you don’t see many striker duos these days in modern football. People are no longer used to seeing offensive pairs.

As you both highlight, this position has evolved significantly since the 1990s and 2000s. What other changes have you observed?

Pauleta: I clearly notice that strikers are now afraid to shoot. I see forwards who don’t take shots at goal... Personally, I can’t remember finishing a match without having at least one attempt. If you don’t shoot, you definitely won’t score. It’s obvious, but it’s also fundamental. Yet, today’s game allows for more chances than when I played, especially because defenses are less strong. For example, with the current Paris Saint-Germain, I’d say any striker can score a lot, given all the chances created. In this team, Jean-Pierre could probably score 60 goals a season! With such an attacking line, it seems impossible to finish a match without scoring.

Papin: Then, there are coaches who don’t want their strikers to shoot from distance. I would have been unhappy playing for a coach like Guardiola. When he was at Bayern Munich, he didn’t want his forwards to shoot from far, even though it’s an option that can be very useful when you’re trying to build confidence, for example.

Pauleta: It’s true, it’s hard for a number 9 to hear that they shouldn’t shoot. Even if we’re talking about one of the best coaches in the world.

Papin: But with Guardiola, Pedro would have adapted to this style of play. He’s a penalty box predator; he knows where to be to receive the ball first. It would have been harder for me because I needed to start from further back.

Pauleta: There’s another difference compared to our time: crosses. Before, number 9s had crosses to exploit; today, if a striker waits for crosses, he won’t score many goals... because wide players cut inside to shoot. I experienced this in my last years with the Portuguese national team. That’s why I had difficulties. I had Figo on one side and Cristiano on the other! Both wanted to score, so it was hard to exist under those conditions. My preferred formation was 4-4-2, to have another striker alongside me.

Papin: In teams, the norm should be for other players to adapt to the number 9. He’s the main asset of a team. But that’s not what we see. The trend is to have several fast players who all score a bit. Yet, when a team has a real striker, it has a game plan centered around making him score.

You mentioned different qualities of center-forwards and the complementarity between scorers. What are the different profiles existing for this position?

Papin: His role is to be where he needs to be before the others: that means being well-positioned. Once you’re there, it’s easy. There aren’t many ways to approach the position. You’re either a finisher, like Pedro, or you need space, like me. To draw a parallel with today, if we look at Paris Saint-Germain, the club has exactly that in its team. An Icardi who would be Pedro and an Mbappé who would be me. And both manage to play together. And when the coach can make both, or even four, in the case of PSG, work together, there are more chances to score and win games.

Pauleta: We can also say that there are fewer and fewer number 9s in current football. It’s not easy to find good players for this position. Cristiano Ronaldo scores a lot of goals coming from the side, but he’s not a center-forward, and neither is Kylian Mbappé. Maybe clubs are producing fewer of them... because there used to be a lot more. When I arrived in Bordeaux, there was Lilian (Laslandes). For me, he was the perfect teammate: he held the ball well, was good in the air... I benefited from his work.

Jean-Pierre, among all the duos you formed during your career, which one left the biggest mark on you?

Papin: It’s when I played with Klaus Allofs at OM in a 4-4-2 between 1987 and 1989. He’s the one who allowed me to explode, to showcase all my qualities. He was a left-footed player with great experience. On the field, we often positioned ourselves one behind the other. He taught me how to position myself well. It was a very interesting learning phase for me because I learned a lot from him. We’re talking about one of the best players of that era, a European Champion with West Germany in 1980. (Alongside him, JPP won his first two Ligue 1 top scorer titles in 1988 and 1989).

Before becoming great strikers in your careers, which players inspired you when you were young?
 

Papin: I really liked Anglo-Saxon football. So, I watched Joe Jordan (Scottish striker of the 70s and 80s). He’s the one who made me want to score goals. Otherwise, my idol was Michel Platini.

Pauleta: For me, it was definitely Fernando Gomes, who won the Golden Shoe twice (1983 and 1985). He was the great Portuguese striker of FC Porto. After that, it’s not because he’s here, but I really liked Jean-Pierre and van Basten, whom I watched all the time, and then Klinsmann a bit later. I remember once when Jean-Pierre came after a match with Bordeaux to ask for my jersey for his son. When I got home, I told my wife, "Guess who came to see me after the match?" I was excited and proud!

Papin: And my son still has your jersey!

You both scored goals throughout your careers in all your teams. But were you always attracted to scoring?

Pauleta: From my first touch of the ball, my goal was to shoot. I come from an island (the Azores) that didn’t have a training center, nor a professional club, and where the highest level was the 3rd Division. So, there weren’t the best methods to train players. For me, it was always control-shoot; in the street, at school... At 9 years old, all I wanted was to score goals. And even today, I think the same way! When I play a match with friends, I shoot as soon as I have the chance! They ask me to pass, but that’s not possible for me. When I’m in front of the goal, it’s not for fun! And that’s even in a game with friends.

Papin: Same for me, even though I started as a goalkeeper. But it only lasted 12 minutes... I had woolen gloves, and the first three shots slipped through my hands into the goal. I was so ashamed that I quickly asked to be switched to forward. And I never changed positions again in my life.

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