Kombouaré: ‘Hold our own’

Antoine Kombouaré and Claude Makelele fronted up to the French and English press ahead of the 2009 Emirates Cup.

Antoine, how are you going to approach playing two games in two days?
“I brought a big squad to London so we’ll play with two different teams. The aim is to prepare for our first match of the season against Montpellier. We’ve worked well until now and we’re going to make the most of this last week just to fine tune a few details. We’ll have to wait until three or four matches into the season to know the true potential of this team.”

The objective set by the club is to qualify for the Champions League. Do you think your squad can do that?
“Sébastien Bazin has spoken about the Champions League on Friday morning. I agree with Laurent Blanc in saying that the transfer fees this summer are ridiculous. We are ambitious, but apparently other clubs have more means at their disposal than us.”

Can you give us a word about this prestigious Emirates Cup tournament?
“When you take part in a tournament, obviously you want to win it, even if the rules oblige us to play two games in two days. We intend to hold our own, because that will keep us in good shape for the start of the season.”

And it’s also the chance to test yourselves against two quality sides...
“That was already the case against Fiorentina. This weekend, our first goal is to win both our matches, the second goal is to play well. Winning leads to winning, and winning also means confidence. We need to take our chances up front and be solid at the back. That’s why I was happy with our performance against Fiorentina. We scored three goals from open play from three different strikers. All that is very positive.”

Claude Makelele (PSG captain)
“The most important thing is to make a good start to the season. Then we’ll know where to set our sights for the campaign. Our play has to be ready for Montpellier and that’s what the Fiorentina match was about. I’ve had a good preseason and I think that will have a very positive effect on my season with PSG. This squad is a good squad and very ambitious. There’s competition places all over the park.”