Young African (Yanga SC) goalkeeper Djigui Diarra believes he will lift the Caf Confederation Cup trophy when his side takes on USM Alger in the final.
The Jangwani-based giants will host the Algerian outfit in their first leg meeting at Benjamin Mkapa on Sunday before the return leg in Algiers on June 2.
This will be Diarra’s third major Caf final he will be playing in. He was in Mali’s team that lost to DR Congo in the final of the 2016 Africa Nations Championship (Chan) and also skippered the team that lost in the final of the same tournament in 2020 to Morocco.
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He was in the Malian team that reached the semi-finals of the 2015 Fifa U20 World Cup in New Zealand, where they ended up finishing third after beating Senegal in the play-off.
“I lost a final twice in the Chan tournament with Mali and today, I find myself playing in another Caf final. I am very happy and proud to be here once again and my ambition and driving factor is the eagerness to erase the failures in those two previous finals,” Diarra, who has five clean sheets in the competition, told CafOnline.
“We have a very strong unit from the coach to the technical staff and my teammates and everyone has played a crucial role in us being here. This is an important competition for us and we are counting on each other to lead the team to victory.
“Winning this competition for each individual player is also a huge plus for them to try to win a place in the national team.”
On whether Yanga have the qualities to win the trophy, Diarra said: “Yes, absolutely. I believe we can. We are all united as a team from the players to the technical staff, the management, and the fans, for this one goal which is to achieve victory in the final.
“We have come a long way so far and we want to crown this journey with the glory of the title. We are determined and you can even see it in training. Everyone is focused and ready to battle.”
Yanga qualified for the final after managing a 4-1 aggregate result against Marumo Gallants of South Africa.