File picture of Paris Saint-Germain’s French head coach Laurent Blanc reacting during the French L1 football match against Caen (SMC) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris.

By Sports Reporter/Doha


Paris Saint-Germain will be here in Doha for four days as part of their Qatar Winter Tour which will culminate in the French powerhouse taking on Italian giants Inter Milan. Both teams are currently leading their respective leagues and the match is bound to showcase some attractive football which the fans in Qatar will be able to enjoy.
PSG coach Laurent Blanc believes that Qatar, with its “amazing” facilities and its current weather is the “perfect place” to conduct the training camp.  PSG skipper Thiago Silva believes that this camp will help his team “recharge their batteries” and come back stronger.

Here are excerpts from an interview:
LAURENT BLANC, COACH
What are your aims ahead of the Qatar Winter Tour?
I want the team to bond even more, although they know each other quite well already. 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. 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.

What do you think of the Aspire facilities?
They are amazing. Everything, from sports to medical facilities, will be at our disposal. 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.

You will play Inter at the end of the tour. The Ligue 1 leader against the Serie A leader should be a great match for everyone to look forward to...
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.
Will the game help you to get ready for 2016?
To me, this game will be more like a training session. It will be a way of rounding off three days of intense work in style.
 
THIAGO SILVA, PSG CAPTAIN
Why is the team going to Doha?
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. 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. 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.

Qatar Winter Tour

The Qatar Winter Tour, which will run for four days from Sunday 27 – Wednesday 30 December – is an opportunity for Paris Saint-Germain to strengthen its ties with the Emirate, its growing legion of fans and also some of its main partners (Qatar Tourism Authority, Ooredoo, QNB, Aspire Academy, Aspetar and beIN SPORTS).