Benchikha in ‘cloud nine’ after USM Alger secure first ever continental title
Published:
USM Alger coach Abdelhak Benchikha was over the moon as his side secured their maiden Continental title, becoming the first ever Algerian club to win the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup.
Alger clinched the coveted title on the away goal rule, despite a 1-0 defeat at home against Tanzania’s Young Africans. The 2-1 victory in the first leg was the decisive result for Alger, and Benchikha was a delighted man despite the loss at their Stade 5 du Juillet backyard in Algiers.
“I am the happiest person in the world after winning the Continental title with this club. This is the first victory of such a magnitude for any club in the country. In six months, I have won two titles and this makes me very happy,” Benchikha noted.
“I am delighted with the victory. Our players showed a bit of lack of experience playing in a final, but we are thankful to have achieved our goal. We deserved to be crowned champions, not necessarily because of the final, but how we managed the past 12 games,” a visibly emotional Abdelhak said after the match.
He admitted that his side might have had a jittery start to the game due to the pressure from a sold-out stadium, with Yanga scoring the lone goal of the match after just seven minutes.
But he was grateful that they managed to ensure the score did not extend, and says the victory was a huge gift to the Algerian people.
“The Algerian people are happy and this is what we wanted. We are happy because after years of trying, we have finally been crowned with this title. We have previously had great players in Algeria who could not win the title, but with these young men, we have achieved it,” Benchikha further added.
The tactician further said that he was delighted that the sacrifice of prioritizing the Confederation Cup over domestic matches bore fruit, saying it has given his team and the players massive motivation to do it for a second time.
