It’s not that the Senegalese played many minutes against his continent’s rivals, but he was part of the team that won the trophy and, after achieving it, he participated in the Dakar celebrations. It was the first time in the history of the country that this title had been achieved and the footballers were entertained by the crowd and the authorities.
Loum, on loan from Porto at Alavés, arrived in Vitoria on Thursday and barely completed three training sessions. José Luis Mendilibar decided to line him up in the starting eleven, forming a trivote with Escalante and Pina, which gave him good results. By minute 1, the African had already shot at Valencia’s door and, in minute 14, he scored the first goal of the match. The rest of the clash was very active and he was able to get some more.
“The truth is that I had little time to recover but it is also true that I have a different mentality, I am an animal. I am very happy for the victory because Valencia is a very big team and we worked well to win the game and continue fighting for permanence”, assured the Senegalese midfielder.
LaLiga Santander
*Data updated as of February 14, 2022
The return of a happy man breathed joy into a downcast and sad team. “For me all games are important, we are professionals, but I am very happy because I think we are going to continue like this. The other day I felt that the team needed it because there was a lack of positive energy. I want to give joy and more forcefulness to help the team and achieve the goals,” he added.
Alavés has carried out a recovery training today in the morning and will have free time tomorrow, Tuesday. From Wednesday the match against Real Madrid on Saturday will be prepared, in which Laguardia will not be able to be because yesterday he saw the fifth yellow card and will be sanctioned by the yellow cycle. The injured Ximo Navarro has not yet arrived, so the one who will play will be Miazga. Mendilibar will be able to sit on the bench again and will recover Manu Vallejo, who could not be called up against Valencia due to the fear clause.