Diakhaby's desire for revenge against Ajax

Mouctar Diakhaby is eager to cross paths with AFC Ajax again this Wednesday in the Champions League, as the Dutch side have proven to be a ‘bogey team’ for him over the course of his career to date.

The Valencia CF centre back has twice been eliminated from competitions by Ajax. First of all in the Last 16 of the UEFA Youth League in 2015/16, and then in the 2016/17 Europa League semifinals with Lyon.

Back up against the Eredivisie champions in the second week of Group H action, Diakhaby says that Ajax are “A good team that are very good on the ball,” but adds that “We have to win.”

“They have a lot of potential, as we saw last season against the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus. We will have to be very focused to beat them,” he continued, in conversation with VCF Media.

The defender is wary of some of the Dutch side’s attacking talent, having played at youth and senior level against Donny Van de Beek.

“I’m looking forward to getting my revenge. I want to beat AFC Ajax; it’s a special game for me because of the two occasions in which they eliminated Lyon when I played for them,” said Diakhaby, who has spent the past few days watching video footage of Ajax’s recent games -including their Champions League opener against LOSC Lille.