Thiago Silva: 'Be 100% for every match'

Thiago, how are you approaching this match against Strasbourg, where Paris Saint-Germain could be crowned champions?
"We need to be 100% each and every match. We try to prepare well for every game, always respecting our opponents. Against Toulouse we were missing six key players but we still played very well. We were focused from start to finish. We have to focus for the 90 minutes. It's never easy."

Compared to your five previous championship victories, how do you judge this one?
"Each season is different. This season we lost just once match against Lyon, but were solid in all the other games. We started well against Lyon, but they are a good side and it was a tough game. But it didn't change our results or approach this campaign. We got straight back to winning ways. The coach told us that we could keep winning. That's important for us."

You are three matches short of entering the club's all-time Top 10 most-capped players... What does Paris Saint-Germain represent for you?

"Paris Saint-Germain represents a lot in my life. I love being here, I love to play for this shirt, to play at the Parc des Princes - it’s an incredible atmosphere to play football in and I’m captain which makes it all the more special. I never really thought I’d spend so much time in one club… I spent three years at Fluminense, three and a half years at Milan, and now it’s nearly seven years here... a life time for a footballer and something extraordinary in my career…"

Did you ever imagine you'd become a French citizen?
"If I’m honest, I never thought one day I’d be French… I’ve been here for seven years now and I never imagined that… It’s great for me because if you are still here, it means you are a doing a good job because you still have the confidence of the club, the president and it’s also great for me to see my children like this, with a French passport… they speak French, English, Portuguese… it’s extraordinary to be able to do this for your children."