Ekpai: I want to play in the Champions League
Nigerian forward Ubong Ekpai has revealed that he is looking to achieve a lot of things at his new club Slavia Prague, among others, playing in the UEFA Champions League.
The winger featured for Viktoria Plzen in the UEFA Champions League during the 2018-19 campaign, playing against Real Madrid and Roma.
Since then, the former Liberec man — who has spent the last two seasons at SK Dynamo Ceske Budejovice on loan from Plzen — has missed out on European club football.
But having penned a three-year deal with Czech champions Slavia Prague this week, Ekpai, now looks set to return to the European stage.
Talking to Slavia Prague’s official website, the former Kano Pillars player revealed his desire to play European club competitions again.
“I want to do a lot of things. I want to win all Czech Cups and play the Champions League or the Europa League. I think we have the quality to win the league and the cup,” he said.
On the forthcoming campaign with Červenobílí — now coached by Jindřich Trpišovsky — whom he played under at Slovan Liberec during the 2016-17 season, Ekpai said he’s ready for the new challenge and hopes to make a good impression when the club begin the 2020-21 summer pre-season training on Thursday.
“I expect a very challenging season ahead of us. I’m part of Slavia now, so I have to say that we won the league. If we want to win it again, we will have to work hard and fight to achieve everything we want to achieve this year,” Ekpai told www.slavia.cz.
The 25-year-old winger said he’s ready for the new challenge under and hopes to make a good impression when the club begin the 2020-21 summer pre-season training on Thursday.
“I expect a very challenging season ahead of us. I’m part of Slavia now, so I have to say that we won the league. If we want to win it again, we will have to work hard and fight to achieve everything we want to achieve this year,” Ekpai told www.slavia.cz.
Slavia Prague already have established forwards, including Ekpai’s compatriot Peter Olayinka. The former Nigeria U23 star admits he is well aware of the competition among the frontmen, but he believes he has the quality to compete for a starting berth in the The Red and Whites attack.
“We have a lot of quality players, each with their own strengths which they can show on the field. Everyone will have to work. The one who works the most and score the most goals, will be one to play, which is typical of big football clubs, and I am ready for the challenge,” he said.
The Nigerian, 25, also hopes to settle in quickly at Slavia and has already got acquainted with his new team-mates — including Olayinka, who has been at the club since July 2018.
“I know a lot of players, I played with Ibrahim Traoré at [Fastav] Zlín. Peter Olayinka is from my country, we talk sometimes. I was in [Slovan] Liberec with Ondra Kolář. I know a lot of them, a large part of the players played under coach Trpišovský already in Liberec, so it’s like home for me here.”