Paris: He was not a part of the Brazilian World Cup team that was headed into submission by a Zinedine Zadane-inspired France 16 summers ago but Thiago Silva, who is expected to lead the yellow brigade this year, says he wants to erase the "bad memories" at the Stade de France by winning the upcoming League Cup final for his club PSG.
"This is a bad memory for Brazilians. But football allows us to write another story, which could be different, since many Brazilians are likely to win the League Cup in this stadium that reminds us of bad memories," the 29-year-old Thiago said.
The final of the 1998 World Cup final was played at Stade de France and Zidane's two headers coupled with an Emmanuel Petit strike late into the match sealed the title for France. Now, it's time for him to write a new chapter.
"Today, it is up to us to write a new story, the story of Paris Saint-Germain," the central defender added.
The Brazilian is widely considered as the best centre-back in the world at present and he is confident of turning PSG into the world's best club.
The heartbreak, though, remains after the French heavyweight's exit from the Champions League following an away defeat to Chelsea.
"I mean just one thing: forgiveness for the Champions League. We will continue to fight together to make this team Paris Saint-Germain the best team in the world. It should also work hard to finally win the Champions League.
"It will happen because we work a lot and when we work a lot, things eventually happen. So we will continue to work together to make this team the best team in the world."
However, it has also been reported that a host of top clubs from around Europe are on toes after Silva admitted that he wants to leave the club this summer.
But Thiago says he is motivated to win the Champions League with Paris next year.
"I work hard at it. The project of the club is to win the Champions League. I'm sure next year will be different again.
This has been the case with the latter. Now we must continue to work seriously to tackle the next season in the best conditions and try to reach the final," he was quoted as saying by PSG TV.
The defender has been playing for top European clubs since an early age and is one of the few players who was also in the 2010 World Cup squad. He played for Brazil at the 2008 Olympics and was the team's captain at the 2012 London Games, when the national team lost to Mexico in the final.
Regarding the defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, he said the team lacked the necessary experience in decisive moments.
"It was not our night. We have sinned in many game situations, but I think the experience of Chelsea prevailed at the end of the match. They have a very experienced coach.
"From our side, we lacked the necessary experience in the decisive moments, but I hope that the day of Paris Saint-Germain will happen because I know we're in the right."
In their quest to regain ground, he said the club will try to win the League Cup and the championship.
"It's hard after a defeat and elimination as the one we just suffered against Chelsea refocus on the championship. But when you love to win, he must know how to raise and take the matches one after the other.
"It was a tough match against Lyon, one of the best clubs in France. This is a team with great quality, great stadium and a hot public. All this will help us to refocus quickly to properly address these two matches against Lyon, try to take a step closer to the championship of France and win the League Cup, which is important for the club."
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