Tanzania’s Young Africans frontman Yusuph Athuman has opened up about how the CAF Champions League heartbreak helped them as they cruised to treble success last season.
Yanga’s red hot form last campaign has been one of a kind which saw them completing their unprecedented treble – which includes the Community Shield, Azam Federation Cup and the NBC Premier League title, an extraordinary feat they achieved without tasting defeat.
Despite the roaring success on the field, Athuman claims that the journey wasn’t a walk in the park but believes that their 2021/22 success was based on the quality and humanity of the players.
The 19-year-old attacker also divulged that their elimination from the CAF Champions League somehow worked to their advantage as they had more time to focus on their domestic league.
“I’m glad we won the treble. It wasn’t easy to go all season unbeaten. Remember, we did not have a pre-season because of COVID-19, with some of the players in quarantine. But God helped us,” the Tanzanian international told FARPost.
“I also think that crashing out of the Champions League was good for us because we had enough time to focus on our league. Since then, we never lost a game as we started winning slowly and taking game by game.”
When asked how his side managed to maintain their winning form, Athuman bluntly responded: “The administration has done so good to make a good squad by luring quality players before the start of the season.”
He went on to say that the support from the fans and technical team came as another opportunity for the players to show their class, ending a five-year trophy drought.
“You know the team has not won a Cup in five years, so the fans demanded success. And the coach used to tell us that these fans believe in us. You have to give them what they want. That kept us motivated,” he added.
“We all continued to train hard and try to win games for our fans and the club. The coach also emphasised the fact that love is everything. You know when you love your fans and teammates, you will be able to help each other succeed, so that was a good weapon for us.
“The technical team was like our fathers. They protected us in any situation, so we worked hard for them. I’m very grateful to be part of the historic treble-winning squad.”
The rising star played 12 games across all competitions for Yanga the last term after spending two months on the sidelines due to an injury.
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