Paris (AFP)
Physical freshness and impeccable state of mind: Paris SG is committed to this double recipe to try to conquer three trophies this summer, before facing Friday (19H00) the Belgians of Waasland-Beveren (L2) in a friendly match at special format, 120 minutes long.
Sunday for its return, PSG scattered Le Havre (L2) in an hour, leading 9-0 from the 61st minute. With four half-hour periods to play against the Flemings, Neymar's team is in danger of blazing again.
If the spectators of the Parc des Princes - limited to less than 5,000 people - expect a spectacle, for coach Thomas Tuchel, the main thing lies elsewhere than in the figures that accumulate on the bulletin board.
"Friday, everyone will play 60 minutes. That's good. The goal is to arrive fresh for Saint-Etienne" in the final of the Coupe de France, July 24, announced the German technician, who left 45 minutes to most of his players in Normandy.
Avoid injuries at all costs: since the start of preparation on June 22, "TT" has repeated its guideline, cautious for a group which did not play football for four months because of the Covid-19 pandemic .
- "Step by step" -
The non-compensated departures of Edinson Cavani, Thomas Meunier and Tanguy Kouassi, who have weakened his bench, also encourage him to be very careful.
The ramp-up will be "step by step," said Tuchel, who plans to reach cruising altitude later in July: against the Greens, then for the final of the League Cup against Lyon (31).
Next will be the long-awaited final eight-a-side Champions League tournament in Lisbon, with a quarter-final (August 12) against Atalanta Bergamo. Physical freshness will be, precisely, one of the keys to this poster, between a private competition formation since March and another which resumed its Championship in June.
"I don't know who has the best advantage, between a team which lacks a bit of rhythm but which is fairly fresh and comes out of a good preparation, and another which has played 15 matches in 45 days", wonders the physical trainer Xavier Frezza, who works with several Ligue 1 footballers.
Meanwhile, in Normandy, PSG has shown, on the ground, a determination that contrasts with the measured words of its coach.
- "Complicity" -
The repeated races of Kylian Mbappé, the effectiveness of the "Fantastic Four" in attack, symbolized by the double of Neymar and Mauro Icardi ... For a gallop of test, the Parisians released the bridle and displayed a desire which contrasts with as part of a simple summer preparation match.
More than their good physical condition, it was their state of mind that caught the eye, especially in the first period, where the eleven aligned was closest to the typical team.
"We feel that they have an appetite, that they are focused on a goal. It suggests good things," said Le Havre coach Paul Le Guen, former player and coach of the Paris club. "They cannot hang out on the road. They have a ready, competitive workforce, we feel a lot of complicity between them. We feel that they take pleasure in finding each other," he continued.
"Everyone is in a good mood," added Julian Draxler at the microphone of PSG TV.
"The guys are happy to play together. They are ready to help each other. I watched that from the first day of recovery," said Tuchel.
On social networks, players stage their good agreement, on the birthday of Leandro Paredes at the end of June, or recently, for July 14, where some took advantage of the fireworks from a privatized barge. For the moment, the cruise is having fun.
© 2020 AFP