Prince William, an Aston Villa supporter, startled supporters with his remarks only minutes before his team’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg matchup with Paris Saint-Germain.
William and his son, Prince George, are travelling to Paris to see the Champions League game.
He witnessed the frenzied celebrations in the away end as Morgan Rogers gave Villa the lead at the 35-minute mark.
The Prince discussed the match, his team’s previous performance, and his stringent directives from the royal family while in France with Ally McCoist and Rio Ferdinand of TNT Sports before to the game starting.
Although his passion for football is widely known, and he has been a devoted supporter of Aston Villa since he was a little boy, supporters were taken aback by the breadth and depth of his analysis of Villa and PSG.
“I’m pretty scared,” he remarked. It’s a big game because it has been a long time coming. It has been 43 years since this event, which was a significant European evening for Villa.
“I believe that everyone witnessed the Liverpool match and the ferocity of PSG. They were amazing in the first leg. They pressed quite hard and exerted a lot of pressure.
“I believe that controlling that press is crucial for Unai [Emery] and the squad tonight. Unai like it when teams attack them and provide a lot of pressure. There is, of course, a limit. Can we outsmart and outperform the press?
“I’m considering how they’re going to avoid the high press and playing a little long ball. It will be a difficult evening, and I’m excited to see what strategies Unai will need to use.”
“May I just say something? Please don’t go for a punditry job, because I’d be out of the game!” interrupted Ferdinand. The way you just broke that down, I’m going to save that for later.
The Manchester United legend was also echoed by supporters on Twitter, one of whom wrote: “Can we get the Prince on more! A great deal of ball expertise.
“He was fantastic,” another person observed, “with great knowledge and insight.”
“You’ve got to give to HRH – he knows his stuff…” a third person said.
A fourth commented: “It’s obvious to me after seeing this that Will is a true, sincere admirer. I’m not sure why, but I thought he would be casual. Not at all; he is a football expert.
Another person wrote: “He’s just a regular, proper bloke who can seamlessly slot into any situation.”
“I think the PSG guys have talked about that quite a bit in the media, about not having the superstars maybe makes a bit more of a gel,” His Royal Highness said while discussing PSG.
“They’re a young team and I’ve been incredibly impressed with how they performed against Liverpool.
“Vitinha has truly impressed me in the midfield. Remember how hard it was for him to get a game at Wolves, and now look at him.
“It just demonstrates how enormous progress can be in a few years. You can do great things if given the chance and supported by the appropriate management.
Unfortunately for the Prince, Desire Doue gave PSG an equaliser just before halftime, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s incredible solo goal after the interval put the home team up 2-1.
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