PARIS: French giants Paris St Germain (PSG) will mount a fresh assault on Ligue 1 title race and the Champions League after their winter break in Doha, captain Thiago Silva said yesterday.
PSG are runaway leaders in Ligue 1 with 52 points after 19 matches. Second-placed Monaco are in second spot at 32 points.
However, with Champions League clash against Chelsea in February, Silva said his team will make the most of their winter break in the Qatari capital later this week when they also play a friendly against Inter Milan on December 30. The tour will start on December 27.
“I think it is very important for the club to go on this tour. We know the owners are from Qatar, so it is very important for them and for the club,” Silva said in an interview yesterday.
“But it is a good thing to go over there, as the locals love Paris Saint-Germain and the players. Last year for instance, it really helped us to go on the tour as we came back and were even better, finishing the season in the best way possible,” the Brazilian added.
“I hope that this year, it will again be beneficial and maybe make us stronger for the Champions League. When we are all over there, we work really well together, we stay in an amazing hotel that gives us the best conditions to rest and recharge the batteries. It’s an advantage for the rest of the season,” Silva said.
Club caoch Laurent Blanc echoed Silva’s sentiments.
“I want the team to bond even more, although they know each other quite well already,” Blanc said when asked about aims at the forthcoming winter break in Doha.
“It actually is part of our strength. We only made small changes to the squad, but we want the new players to adapt even more. We want to continue the progress we began four years ago,” the former French international said. “We will also have fantastic working conditions, with amazing weather, as Qatar is the perfect place for this. The tour will be short, but I am hoping to see some intensive work, and the players will be very busy with the sponsorship activation and the media presence. Blanc, who replaced Carlo Ancelloti as coach at PSG two years ago, said facilities in Doha are ‘amazing.
“They are amazing. Everything, from sports to medical facilities, will be at our disposal,” Blanc said.
“Another big advantage is the climate. It is the best possible weather to work with the squad and there is not such a big time difference between Qatar and Paris. “We will avoid the usual endless plane journeys that you need in order to get this sort of weather. With such short tours, the time difference can be a problem, especially when you come back. But this won’t be the case for us,” the coach said. Blanc said the PSG-Inter Milan friendly will be a ‘treat’ for football fans in Doha.
“It will be our last game of 2015. Two really good teams, with really good players. The football fans in Qatar will be able to see a great game of football,” he said.
“To me, this game will be more like a training session,” Blanc said. “It will be a way of rounding off three days of intense work in style,” he said.
THE PENINSULA
