Al Nasr forward Jires Kembo Ekoko will be putting friendships to one side when he returns to El Jaish for Wednesday’s AFC Champions League quarter-final opener.
Kembo Ekoko, 28, scored six goals in 32 appearances on loan at the Soldiers from Al Ain in 2013/14.
Good memories and lasting alliances were forged in Qatar, but these will be temporarily forgotten as Nasr look to continue their debut run in the knockout stages of Asia’s premier club competition.
.@TheAFCCL #ACL2016 Quarter-finals: KEY PLAYER: JIRES KEMBO EKOKO – @ALNasrSC > https://t.co/2AQQ3S43me pic.twitter.com/5cUIjpNVlp
— The-AFC.com (@theafcdotcom) August 21, 2016
“We have a lot of targets but the most important is El Jaish and to make a very good camp and be ready for the first game in the Champions League,” said Kembo Ekoko.
“The Champions League is always difficult – no game is the same. That’s why we must go there with the same fight as we showed last season and show our power.
“It was a really good time for me (at Jaish). I still have some friends there and we’re still talking.
“I knew we’d play against Jaish because some players always call me and send me messages. But I have good memories from there.”
The addition of Abdelaziz Barrada during the tournament’s summer hiatus means the Blue Wave now boast three French speakers in their foreign quartet, with the Morocco playmaker joining Burkina Faso winger Jonathan Pitroipa and Kembo Ekoko.
When asked whether this would be a bonus, the latter-mentioned replied: “Of course. But in football, we all speak the same language.
“Outside it will help us and inside the pitch too to understand. But all the players when you play football must speak the same language.”
Nasr will hope to return from Doha’s Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium with a positive result for the second leg on September 14.
