Mamouni Dagano: Algeria can beat Ghana and Ivory Coast

Burkina Faso and Qatari club, Al Khour striker Mamouni Dagano has declared to Echourouk before flying to Angola with his national squad, that none of Ghana, Ivory Coast or Togo will clinch the African Cup trophy, but vowed to score versus Algeria in case they meet in the second round of the tournament.

• Q: What’s the difference between playing with Saifi and without him?
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• A: It’s an honor to play by the side of such a great player, I know him since he was playing in the French league. Technically he’s very talented and takes over easily in the duels.
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• Q: Any comment about the group in which Algeria evolves?
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• A: The group is somehow complex, as I told you earlier the fact that Algeria squad have qualified to the World Cup make of them the favorites and push their components to do their utmost to defeat them. I can easily tell you that each match will be considered as a final for them.
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• Q: You are in a tough group as you will play Ivory Coast again in addition to Ghana, do you expect passing to the second round?
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• A: We have spent 20 days preparing this competition and we are very confident as to the chances of our squad; but nothing is written in football and our national squad are among the best in Africa and the players are aware of the difficulty of this competition.
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• Q: You took the lead ahead of Samuel Etoh during the qualifiers with 12 goals, what‘s the secret?
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• A: The secret in the team’s spirit and solidarity between the players, because as you know we don’t have stars in our squad as it is the case with the other African teams. I owe my achievement to my colleagues in the team; their solidarity helped me to crown me as the top scorer in these qualifiers leading stars like Didier Drogba and Samuel Etoh.
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• Q: You could play versus the Algeria squad and your club mate Rafik Saifi, are you going to score?
• A: I would like to say that it’s an honor to play Algeria; I remember that I have scored in the first match versus Algeria in a friendly some time ago. I think that we are able to play any squad in the second round and it will be an honor to play versus Algeria and I’ll be happier if I score to my friend Saifi ( he laughs).
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• Q: You have certainly followed the Algeria squad during the qualifiers for the African and world Cup competitions, how did you find them?
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• A: I must admit that I was impressed by the players’ resilience at a moment where many sceptical as to their chances before Egypt. One has to bear in mind that Egypt is the double winner of this competition and the win of Algeria over Egypt must be regarded as a lesson for the African teams, with a valiant heart nothing is impossible.
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• Q: Did you get in touch with Saifi in the wake of the attack in Cairo, knowing that he was among the players who were injured during these events?
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• A: Yes, I sent him a text message because I couldn’t reach him on the phone, in the beginning I was very anxious but after seeing the pictures I noticed that he was slightly injured; however, it’s not reasonable to attack players with such barbarity.
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