News of Cameroon’s preparations for the African Nations Cup is emanating from unexpected quarters – the coach of the Panthers of Gabon.
“Immediately after the draws were made in Luanda, the Cameroon, Tunisian and Gabonese delegations travelled to Lubango to visit the infrastructure and choose the base for our various camps,”Alain Giresse told Gabonese television (RTG1) on Thursday.
The two-time World Cup semi-finalist with France (1982 and 1986) who has been training Gabon for over three years said that the Cameroonian and Gabonese officials had both fallen for the calm and luxurious Lubango Palancras Negras hotel, as their base.
“The Tunisians didn’t want to stay that far and the Cameroonians finally turned down the offer but I am happy that we took it,” Giresse said.
Since the draws were made in Luanda, Cameroonian fans and media have been urging authorities to announce the preparation schedule of the team, to no avail. Whereas, Giresse said on RTG1 that Gabon will hold their 2-week pre-tournament camp in Bloemfontein, South Africa to match the 1700m above sea level altitude of Lubango, very little has filtered from the Cameroonian end.
Giresse, like his Cameroonian counterpart and fellow Frenchman Paul Le Guen, is under pressure from some sports journalits and fans to bring in “fresh blood” to the national team before the African Cup of Nations in a month’s time.
“Do you think it is possible to come up with new players who would adapt to the team’s play style and be performant at a huge competition like the African Nations Cup within 2 weeks of camping?”Giresse asked.
It would be a huge risk and jeopardy to include in the current squad any player from the all home-based Gabonese national side that knocked Cameroon out of the ongoing CEMAC Cup in Bagui (1-0) on Sunday, the former captain of the French national team said.
“Do you think I don’t know the players who are playing in that competition? I know all of them. Do you think – by the whiff of a magic wand a player would just burst on to the scene like that? And by this whiff of a magic wand he would be ready to play at the level of a Nations Cup? I don’t believe in that,” Giresse said.
Here are more excerpts on the site visit, the importance of
professional preparation of tournaments, why fans should not expect
coaches to add too many new faces in their squads before the African
Cup of Nations and Cameroon’s potential ahead of the 2010 World Cup in
South Africa.
These excerpts were selected and translated into English for Gef’s Football Club.
Continue reading Football:Discovering Cameroon’s plans for the Africa Cup from Gabon’s Coach?
Comments