Parisians shaping up far from home
Five thousand kilometres away from home, in Qatar, PSG are preparing for their biggest season to date.
Thanks to a partnership with their owners, the squad have been using the facilities at the Aspire academy in Doha, which was also used by their football colleagues just a couple of weeks ago.
The squad have been hard at work, splitting their days between physical training in the mornings and ball training in the afternoon, before spending their down time at the Torch Hotel, the tallest building in the country.
According to Daniel Narcisse, the new PSG recruits have wasted no time fitting into the squad.
"Everything's going well in Qatar, we're training hard all day to be at our best when the season begins.
“I'm very happy to have joined the PSG team, we're having a lot of fun and already getting along very well," explains the current World Handball Player of the Year.
Philippe Gardent couldn't agree more with Narcisse’s sentiments.
"The preparation has been going very well, the conditions here are very good and the players are getting along very well," said the coach
The team flew to Doha on 1 August and will return to France on 9 August, before taking part in pre-season tournaments, where they will meet VELUX EHF Champions League regulars MKB Veszprem and Füchse Berlin.
The competitive season begins with the Trophée des Champions in France at the beginning of September, with their first game among Europe’s elite will be against a qualifier between 18-22 September.
Photo credit: J. Azouze / PSG Handball
TEXT:
Kevin Domas / cor