Wrote:
Muhammad Hammam
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Thursday 15 October 2020
10:19 AM
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In 2017, Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca team won its second title in terms of the African Champions League competition, after defeating Al-Ahly in the final match with two goals to one with the aggregate of the two matches back and forth.
Wydad was close to achieving its third continental title in the last edition before losing to Tunisia’s Esperance, amid unfortunate events in the return leg at the Olympic Stadium in Brads.
However, going back to the (2017) edition in particular, there was a player from the Wydad team during this time, the Ivorian striker Jelum Nikais Daho, who had previously won the Champions League title with the Moroccan champion before moving to Al-Ahly Benghazi, Libya, and the Saudi advance, who plays in the second division.
“Yallakora” contacted the Ivorian striker to talk with him about the scenes of winning the Champions League title (2017) and his opinion about Saturday’s stint between Al-Ahly, Wydad and the team nominated for the Champions League title.
Here are the details of the dialogue as follows:
How was your career before moving to Wydad?
My career began in my country, Côte d’Ivoire, where I played with the African Sport team before joining the Moroccan Wydad Casablanca team. My dream has always been to play for a fan club and to fulfill myself in front of the fans, and this is what has already been achieved by moving to Wydad Casablanca, which is considered one of the most important teams on the continent.
How was your experience with Wydad, which saw you win the Champions League title?
I moved to the Wydad team during a very complicated period, the team was under pressure, specifically from the administration, despite that the players were able to be up to the responsibility, which is to achieve the most important title in the African Champions League, and despite winning the champions, the team continued to suffer at the administrative level and this affected us. In a very big way, coach Hussein Amouta would leave, and then she also decided to leave because of the instability of the situation.
– What are the reasons for the instability of the team and the club during this period?
The administration did not respect the players in the best way, and the team was also suffering from many administrative issues, as some used to deal that Wydad was their own, but as I mentioned, despite the bad conditions, the players succeeded in achieving the dream of the fans and winning the title.
– As you were a player in Wydad, how was the competition with rivals Raja?
Wydad was considered more powerful than Raja during this period, and this period also Raja suffered from several crises, whether financial or technical, and this led to Wydad controlling most of the titles.
– Do you think you achieved your goals with Wydad?
When I moved to Wydad, I signed a five-year contract, and in my first year I succeeded in winning the Moroccan League title (the Moroccan championship) and the most important title, the African Champions League title, and this season was considered the most important, but despite that I did not continue my goals with the team to decide Departure for bad club conditions.
– What about your memories of the Al-Ahly match in the 2017 final?
This day is unforgettable for me, Casablanca was in continuous joy, especially after we beat Al-Ahly in the second leg, the fans wanted to win only despite achieving a positive result in the first leg in Burj Al Arab (1-1) and this is what we completely achieved by the people of Wydad. To be happy after achieving his goal.
– Do you think Wydad benefited as a referee in the final match?
No, this is not true, we deserved to win the title, what is being reported is pressure from the Egyptians and it is their most prominent weapon, but we did not give up on that pressure, but we achieved our goal, which is to win and achieve the title.
– What are the instructions of coach Hussein Amouta during my Al-Ahly match?
Coach Amuta is considered a great coach because he has a lot of experience in the African continent, for me Amuta is one of the most important reasons that pushed us to beat Al-Ahly, which is considered great during this period, as Al-Ahly managed to qualify at the expense of Esperance in Tunisia, and swept the coastal star in Cairo.
– What is the player that the coach warned against before meeting Al-Ahly?
Walid Azzaro, Amouta always warned us about this player, as Azaro gave an exceptional performance during this period with Al-Ahly.
– From your point of view, who is the strongest team in the Champions League currently?
Al-Ahly is currently, it is true that Zamalek was able to achieve the Confederation and win the African Super at the expense of Esperance and also exclude Esperance from the champions during this edition, but in my opinion Al-Ahly is the strongest team currently.
– What do you think is the team closest to getting the champions?
Looking at the Al-Ahly and Wydad matches, Zamalek and Al-Raja, they are classic confrontations, so it is difficult to determine the winning party. These matches always play on small details, so we will not wait to perform what matters to each team is to achieve the winning result only.
– Finally … What are the weapons that Wydad might resort to before its battle with Al-Ahly?
Wydad is true to Ismail Al-Haddad, who I see as the best player in the team now, but what Wydad depends on is the collective, and this is the most important weapon that will threaten Al-Ahly and they have to beware of that.
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