Africa: Khalil's Return to Algeria Is Motivation

20 January 2023
Confederation of African Football (Giza)

When Moulaye Ahmed Khalil walked into the press conference room to speak to the media ahead of Mauritania's first game at the TotalEnergies CHAN 2022 in Oran, he took a deep breath, looked around and waved at some familiar faces.

Khalil was back 'home'. He was back where he once felt comfortable, and his body language showed exactly that. With a huge smile on his face, he greeted the waiting press in Arabic and said: "As-salamu aleikum" (Peace be unto you).

"I am so happy to be back in Algeria. I made some incredible memories while playing in the league here. I made so many good friends and the fans, the fans were always good to me. I loved them and they loved me. It was amazing," Bessam, as he is commonly known, said with a big smile.

Bessam, who turned 35 last month, joined record 14-time Algerian league winners JS Kabylie in 2014 before moving to CS Constantine the following season.

"Algerians love football. They live for football. Now that I am back here for the CHAN almost a decade later, I realize that a lot has changed especially in terms of infrastructure, and I love it for sure. The people are the same - warm and welcoming."

Oran is a special city for Bessam because when he made his debut for JS Kabylie, it was against MC Oran and right here, the youngster from Zouerat in northern Mauritania scored his first goal.

"I still remember it vividly and it was so special to me so coming back here to Oran for the CHAN to play for my country is emotional for me. We know that Angola is a big team, and we respect them, but we want to win. For me, this will be great," Bessam said passionately.

"We are facing a team that has already played one game in the tournament, but we are ready. We have been preparing for months now and we believe that we have what it takes to get a good result," said the FC Nouadhibou midfielder.

Mauritania are making their third appearance at the CHAN and are 0-6 for a win rate. According to coach Amir Abdou, these results are in the past. For Bessam, Abdou and the whole Mauritanian side, Friday's game is a 'final'. They must win to stay in the competition.

Read the original article on CAF.

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