Cyriel Dessers is prepared to have the game of his life when Feyenoord face Roma in the UEFA Europa Conference League final on Wednesday at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania.
Dessers, who joined Feyenoord on loan from Genk in the summer, has become a huge hit among the Feyenoord fans, with his ten goals propelling the Dutch club to the maiden final of Europe’s tertiary club football tournament.
The striker came up big for Feyenoord on their road to the final, netting game-winning goals against Slavia Prague and Marseille in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively. He is the competition’s top scorer with 10 goals, one more than Roma’s Tammy Abraham.
“I’m really looking forward to it. Playing in finals is all you care about when you’re a top sportsman and especially special matches like these against Roma; that goes without saying,” Dessers told UEFA.com.
“I’m really looking forward to it and I hope it’s going to be the greatest game of my life. We are confident. We’re not afraid of the big name of Roma. We are aware of our qualities; we know what we can do.
“We will have to be at our best, that’s for sure, but we also know that if we are, we can beat almost every team. We know what to expect. We are well prepared. If we just do our thing and play our best, everything is possible.”
On being the competition’s top scorer, the Nigerian international said: “It’s a fantastic feeling. To get into double figures as a striker is something you work towards in pre-season. When you can do that in European competition, that’s very special.
“I realize it puts me in a special list of players for this season, [not just] at the European level but also for the club. At Feyenoord, I am moving up the list, which is very rewarding.”
