Diouf Speaks Of His D African Nations Cup, Declares Diouf

voldemort · 01-10-2008, 09:54 AM

Diouf, who is known for his outspoken comments and has courted controversy since his move to England in 2002, feels that the side can go one better than in 2002, when his team were beaten by Cameroon on penalties in the final, and he has issued a rallying cry to his team-mates to prove that they are capable of winning the tournament this time round. "When you look around there isn't a bad side in the tournament," Diouf told reporters.
"That means anyone can win it and it makes it interesting. But I have a real desire to win. For me, the African Nations is as important as the World Cup."
The Senegal team has a large contingency plying their trade in the Premier League, including Portsmouth’s towering midfielder Pape Bouba Diop and Fulham’s Diomansy Kamara, along with other members of the squad that currently play in France, and Diouf underlined his belief that such experience has made them fearless of the other sides in the tournament.
"We have a very good team. A lot of the players play in England or France," he said.
"We do not fear anyone...People will want to avoid us. There are one or two teams that you don't want to play until the later stages of the tournament but there are not many teams that will want to play us."
Diouf also spoke about the nature of the tournament which he feels is unlike any other international competition, and while he is confident of guiding Senegal to their first African Nation’s Cup trophy, he is aware of the expectations associated with the National side and is hoping that the squad can cope with such external pressure, especially when they encounter their rivals the Ivory Coast.
"The pressure is maybe different in Africa because they won't settle for a draw over there.
“They want to go for a win every time you play and that is hard.
"They are pretty tough on you if they don't deliver the goods and get a victory."
Should they succeed, the 26-year old believes that it may encourage European clubs to cast their eye over the talents displayed, leading to a growing number of African players moving to clubs in Europe’s top leagues.
"It is a great opportunity. It is a shop window. They know if they put in a series of good performances in the tournament there will be clubs that want to snap them up."

source:goal.com

01-10-2008, 09:54 AM	#1 (permalink)
voldemort Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 8,183	Diouf Speaks Of His D African Nations Cup, Declares Diouf Diouf, who is known for his outspoken comments and has courted controversy since his move to England in 2002, feels that the side can go one better than in 2002, when his team were beaten by Cameroon on penalties in the final, and he has issued a rallying cry to his team-mates to prove that they are capable of winning the tournament this time round. "When you look around there isn't a bad side in the tournament," Diouf told reporters. "That means anyone can win it and it makes it interesting. But I have a real desire to win. For me, the African Nations is as important as the World Cup." The Senegal team has a large contingency plying their trade in the Premier League, including Portsmouth’s towering midfielder Pape Bouba Diop and Fulham’s Diomansy Kamara, along with other members of the squad that currently play in France, and Diouf underlined his belief that such experience has made them fearless of the other sides in the tournament. "We have a very good team. A lot of the players play in England or France," he said. "We do not fear anyone...People will want to avoid us. There are one or two teams that you don't want to play until the later stages of the tournament but there are not many teams that will want to play us." Diouf also spoke about the nature of the tournament which he feels is unlike any other international competition, and while he is confident of guiding Senegal to their first African Nation’s Cup trophy, he is aware of the expectations associated with the National side and is hoping that the squad can cope with such external pressure, especially when they encounter their rivals the Ivory Coast. "The pressure is maybe different in Africa because they won't settle for a draw over there. “They want to go for a win every time you play and that is hard. "They are pretty tough on you if they don't deliver the goods and get a victory." Should they succeed, the 26-year old believes that it may encourage European clubs to cast their eye over the talents displayed, leading to a growing number of African players moving to clubs in Europe’s top leagues. "It is a great opportunity. It is a shop window. They know if they put in a series of good performances in the tournament there will be clubs that want to snap them up." source:goal.com