They are some of the best in Africa. You have a physio room, a treatment room, a recovery room. A pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, and an amphitheatre for the media. So it’s quite nice and we didn’t have this in 2010, and that makes a huge difference.
Before, the national team used to stay in the Cercle Militaire Hotel in Beni Messous?
Yeah, exactly. It was not the best thing for the national team. I heard from other players that fans were coming to knock on rooms at midnight and in the early morning to ask for signatures. Now we avoid these distractions.
You took part in the 2010 and 2014 World Cup preparations. Did you, then, feel a palpable difference in the build-up to the tournaments?
When you compare the two, I think the major difference is experience. In 2010, it was the first time we qualified in 24 years. So I think the President and the Federation learned and didn’t repeat the same preparation. Maybe that’s why we fared better. I think it’s fair to say we were more organized in 2014.
I wanted to ask you about your yellow card in Ouagadougou, during the World Cup Qualification play-offs. It suspended you for the crunch match in the return leg in Blida…
The thing is that I don’t think it was a true yellow…
The thing is that I don’t think it was a true yellow…
It was your first foul of the game…
Yeah, it was my first foul, but I should not have been in that position. I tried to cover the mistake of one of my teammates, so that’s why I was near the touchline making the tackle. When I made the foul, I was gutted, but I ended up being injured for the return leg anyways with a collapsed lung.
What about about the three-man free-kicks. You usually line up beside Madjid Bougherra. As he taps it, you swing around and shoot, taking the goalkeeper by surprise. Did you think of it?
No, the idea came from Madjid. He came to me and said, ‘Look I saw this free-kick the other day. It worked well, I think we should try it.’ We tried it in training and we used it during the matches and it worked well. We used it in matches three times to great effect. Against Burkina Faso, the goalie saved it, but Slimani scored the rebound. Against Rwanda the goalkeeper pushed it out for a corner kick. The third time was against Guinea and I scored. It’s not bad, but I think we should keep it secret for the next match (laughs).
Do you see similarities between Tony Pulis and Coach Vahid in terms of mental fortitude?
It’s a little different. Pulis has an English coaching style. But there