FC Nantes – Ignatius Ganago: “It’s the most important goal of my career!”

We understood why he was nicknamed “Ganagoal“! After almost single-handedly winning FC Nantes facing Bres
t and registered the only goal of the Yellows against Nice, last Sunday
, Ignatius Ganago set Beaujoire on fire this Thursday evening against Qarabag. Thanks to a goal as beautiful as full of cold blood scored in the 90th + 4, the Canaries snatched a second victory in the group stage of the Europa League
which assures them of finish at worst third and therefore transferred to the Europa League Conference. At best second and therefore play-offs. But in the meantime, the second scorer of the evening relishes. Interview with a man who was smiling from ear to ear, in the mixed zone, after the meeting.

“If against Olympiakos, we do the same thing again, well that’s great”

How do you feel after this success validated in added time?

I don’t know what to say, it’s really an incredible evening. We didn’t really expect that. We got a very good victory and it’s also thanks to our supporters who are incredible. They didn’t give up until the last minute and that galvanized us. We are still alive in this Europa League. We have one final left, against Olympiakos. We will go there, we will give everything, as we did today, to try to take this second place.

With my teammates, we looked each other in the eye, we talked. We wanted to reverse the trend.

Can you tell us about your goal, scored in the 90th + 4?

Frankly, even I don’t know what to tell you because, when I score, I realize that it’s three points in the pocket. I see the supporters, they are super happy, everyone is happy. These are the moments you really want to experience in football. I also saw all my teammates who were happy. They ran like crazy, it wasn’t easy but they didn’t give up. It’s a great collective victory. We have to continue on that.

Is this the goal of a confident striker?

Yes, it’s true. With my teammates, we looked each other in the eye, we talked. We were keen to reverse the trend because we were really at the worst. We lost all the matches, we made six matches without scoring. It was up to us to hold our heads up and that’s what we did. We all made it together. Tonight, we also had a bit of luck unlike the previous matches. With each error made, it was goal behind and despite all our chances, we did not score. Tonight, we are rewarded and we are very happy.

What place does this goal have among all those you have registered in your career?

For me, this is currently the most important goal of my career. It’s quite exceptional. In front of these supporters, it’s even more beautiful. It makes a lot of noise. But if I score this goal, it’s thanks to everyone. If JC [Castelletto, ndlr] don’t pass me, I couldn’t have scored. It’s the strength of the collective, we must not let go and continue on it. When you work every day and run like crazy during matches, in the end, it always ends up paying off.

How do you explain that it’s still in added time that you make the difference?

If that’s how we gotta win, me, I take it every day. The main thing is victory. We don’t care if we score in the first or last minute. There we have three points. If against Olympiakos, we do the same thing again, well that’s great! Whether we score at the first or at the last minute is not our problem. For us, the main thing is to win and not give up.