Fennecs choose France to train for CAN, World Cup

2009-12-01

Amidst media speculation about giant bonuses and huge career opportunities, Algeria's players are heading to France to train for the African Cup of Nations (CAN).

By Lyes Aflou for Magharebia in Algiers – 01/12/09

[File] Algeria coach Rabah Saadane sees the African Cup of Nations as good training for future tournaments.

As celebrations over Algeria's World Cup qualification begin to fade, the team is now looking towards the next challenge: the 2009 African Cup of Nations.

The Greens' first choice for a training site, the Italian Football Federation's Coverciano Technical Centre in Florence, was not available, so instead they will be travelling to the south of France. The team will practice there from December 26th to January 7th, before heading to Angola for the competition, which kicks off on January 10th.

Meanwhile, Fennecs coach Rabah Saadane finds it satisfying that Algeria has been placed in Group A, playing against Angola, Mali and Malawi.

"I'm happy with the draw," he said. "It's a good group, compared with the Ivory Coast or Cameroon ones, which are very tough. Thank God, I think we have a good chance of getting through to the quarter-finals."

"This competition is an excellent opportunity for our players to prepare for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa," he told Arabic-language Channel 1 radio. \

Other factors are competing for the Fennecs' focus as they prepare for the African Cup, including the media's fascination with player bonuses following the do-or-die victory over the Pharaohs on November 18th.

Newspapers originally speculated that each player came away with over 400,000 euros. But the football daily Le Buteur claimed in its November 27th edition that each player received 12,000 euros, to be topped up by two additional payments.

One payment is a bonus for qualification, the value of which is not yet known, while the other is supposedly a personal gift of 100,000 euros apiece from Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Le Buteur also claimed that some members of the team would be paid in proportion to their playing time and contributions during the joint qualifying rounds for the African and World cups.

Players will also receive a luxury car from the team's sponsor, mobile telephone operator Nedjma. The make and model of the car has not yet been revealed.

Talk of transfers is also in the air. Goalkeeper Fawzi Chaouchi, who saved the match numerous times with several impressive dives, has aroused the interest of Olympique de Marseille and other teams, including Lens and Toulouse.

"Indeed, I've had a lot of calls from France and elsewhere," Chaouchi told Competition on November 28th. "OM wants me, and there are other clubs insisting they have me. It's nice to see." Chaouchi said he would take the time to "think about it" before deciding on a club.

According to the UK's The Sun, English Premier League club Tottenham seem to be eyeing defender Madjid Bouguerra, who is currently playing for the Glasgow Rangers.

In the midst of these developments, the Algerian Football Federation is working hard to finalise travel arrangements for both the African and World cups. A delegation led by federation president Mohamed Raouraoua visited Johannesburg on November 28th and met with the International Football Federation's technical services team to choose the Fennecs' base camp. The delegation will be in South Africa for the December 4th group draws.