Mali’s Doumbia hopes TotalEnergies U17 AFCON can be career springboard
Malian forward Mamadou Doumbia hopes the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) can be a springboard for him and his teammates to prosper their careers and make the next big moves.
Doumbia who has been a star of the Malian side at the tournament hopes that he can follow in the footsteps of some of the players who made their names at the tournament, including the likes of Victor Osimhen (Nigeria) and Patson Daka (Zambia).
“If a big European club gives me a chance, I will gladly take it and do everything possible to do better than the previous stars who have come through the U17 AFCON tournament,” Doumbia says, in an interview with CAFOnline.
Doumbia has been an integral part of the Mali squad and has scored a goal in each of their two group stage matches. His performances, which have included one man of the match, has been eye catching, ingredients that clearly show he is set to be tomorrow’s star.
He intends to keep performing at this level in the coming matches, more importantly in Thursday’s quarter final match when they take on Congo in Annaba.
“I will do everything to score again and help the team do well. The main objective is for our country to do well. Whether I score or not, as long as we win, that is the most important thing. I want to give my best,” he said.
“My primary aim is to become an African champion with Mali and if I can, I would love to add individual accolades to it be it being the top scorer or best player,” he adds.
On what they expect from Congo he says; “Congo has a very good team and we are going to prepare well for them. This will be like a final for us and we have to do everything to win. We have a very good team and we have confidence in our coach.”
He Says the victories against Burkina Faso and defending champions Cameroon have boosted their confidence.
Doumbia, nicknamed ‘Messi’ hopes that his star will keep shining, even as he looks to make his nation family proud.
“My family has supported me from when I was young because they knew I had a passion for football. They have been behind me all this time and I want to make them proud,” he says.
Doumbia looks up to the Argentinian wizard Lionel Messi, and Africa’s shining star Riyad Mahrez as his role models and he hopes to walk in the same paths they have walked.
He speaks especially fondly of Algerian skipper Mahrez, who he says has inspired him greatly.
“I admire him a lot because he is left footed just like me. Even though we have differences in physical size, I admire his technicality and how he plays,” the Malian says, with a wide smile on his face.
Doumbia’s dreams also fall on the Malian senior national team, and he hopes the U17 AFCON can be a good start for him to slowly climb up the ladder and be a regular with Les Aigles.