Paris (AFP)

Confined and deprived of competition, the footballers are in the unknown: they continue to talk physically but "the psychological aspect is much more important", explains to AFP Olivier Echouafni, trainer of the PSG women, who tries to know if his players "are fine", "as if it were (his) daughters".

Q: What work organization, necessarily new, have you set up in response to the coronavirus pandemic?

A: "Everything was done at breakneck speed. With confinement, the first thing to do was to find a base for all the players and staff. In our group, we have 50 60% foreigners. We had to see if they stayed in Paris or returned home. Some were quite isolated, we had to manage that. Then, set up a work method taking into account the profile of the players. Then determine working groups according to the place where they were and the material at their disposal. Finally, with our physical trainer, we set up an individualized program which they receive every two or three days. "

Q: How can you assess their performance remotely?

A: "Internally, we have two to three meetings per week in videoconference with the doctor, who is the real distribution belt, and all the technical staff. We are waiting for their return to see how they cashed in the sessions. there is an aspect of work, but there is also the psychological aspect which, for me, is much more important. "

Q: What is your approach on this point?

A: "At the beginning I sent a little message. After having let a week go by, I needed to have them on the phone to find out how they were doing, how the confinement was going with their family. For those who are alone , it’s even harder to take it all in. Hence this psychological role that I try to have with them to keep in touch, it’s essential. "

Q: Will you use this spring afterwards?

A: "It would not be a good idea. Football is so much after what is going on. I want to know if they are doing well. It is like it is my daughters, it goes beyond My players. The only message I am trying to get across to them: they are competitors and they must have a group spirit, even more so now, on the one hand, but also in relation to the people who make them surround them on a daily basis. They must set an example, they must be positive. "

Q: Perhaps this is a more difficult role for young people to take on?

A: "What is going to be especially complicated is that we spent ten days but there there will be another fifteen, or even more. These are the ones where we will have to be even more present, reassuring them and help them in case of worse shots, because there will most certainly be. "

Q: Have you already planned the recovery phase?

A: "No, it's much too early. Already, the question to ask is: + Are we going to start again? +. If this is the case, we will be in a configuration of before- season, except that we will have a lot less time than during a preparation. We are vigilant about the program to keep them in shape, so that they pay attention to their diet. If we have to start again, it may be fine only play on that. "

Q: Would you be ready to restart with a PSG-OL shock behind closed doors to end the season?

A: "I'm not even going to give you the slightest answer, it seems completely out of place. It is far away and today football is not a PSG-Lyon. The priority is that everyone is fighting, that there is real solidarity so that we get out of this really complicated situation for everyone. "

Interview by telephone by Jérémy TALBOT.

© 2020 AFP