03 Aug 2015
Doha, 3 August 2015. For the third consecutive year, the Paris Saint-Germain Handball team travelled to Qatar for a week-long training camp hosted by Aspire Zone Foundation. Between July 27 and August 3 the Parisians prepared physically and mentally for the new season and especially for the French players the trip to Doha brought back good memories.
It has only been six months since the French Handball national team won the World Championships with a 25-22 win in the final over host Qatar in February 2015. “It’s always great to come back to this place, not only because of recent success with the French national team, but because we have been here with PSG many times and the people have always been very welcoming and everything has always been excellent,” said goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer after the last practice session at Aspire Academy on Monday.
“It was a hard week of practice, but that’s exactly what we need if we want to meet our objectives.” They are, of course, winning the Handball Champions League in the upcoming season. “We know it’s very difficult, but we have a great team and we will give our best,” said the four-times World Champion and 'Most Valuable Player' of the 2015 Handball World Championship in Qatar, who has also won the Champions League four times (2003, 2007, 2010, 2012), the European Championships three times (2006, 2010, 2014) and the Olympic Games twice (2008, 2012). How come the 38-year-old is still that motivated after having achieved so many major titles in his career? “Handball is my life and it gives me a lot of pleasure when I go to the practice; and I simply play, because I want to win games and titles.”
From his most recent visits to Doha, Omeyer has noticed that the popularity of sports in Qatar has been improving. “Not just because of the recent Handball World Championships, but there are lots of other big sport events coming to Qatar regularly and that’s definitely a good development.” What kind of advice does one of the most successful players in handball history have for young Qatari athletes who aspire to an international career? “You have to have pleasure doing your sport and give all you can in every training session if you want to reach a high level. Even if you have a bad day.”