On Tuesday, Sabri Lamouchi, coach of the Ivory Coast national football team, held his first press conference of the year to outline the team’s plans leading up to the upcoming World Cup. Lamouchi, a Franco-Tunisian coach, shared details about the Ivory Coast’s program, including their choice of base camp in Sao Paulo.
Lamouchi acknowledged that their base camp is relatively distant from the match venues, but he emphasized that other nations face even greater distances. He pointed out the challenge of navigating the complexity and vastness of Brazil and highlighted the temperature variations between the North and South regions. Lamouchi explained that, despite playing two matches in the North (where it will be very hot), no nation has chosen to establish their base camp there.
Regarding friendly matches, Lamouchi revealed that the team plans to play only two matches to maintain physical freshness before the World Cup. However, the opponents for these matches have not been finalized. Lamouchi outlined a two-part, personalized preparation, with a likely training location in the south of Europe, potentially in southern Portugal where Brazilian is spoken, offering an oceanic and temperate climate. The emphasis on physical freshness is essential due to the vast size of Brazil, which will pose logistical challenges and require frequent travel during the tournament.
