There’s something profoundly joyful about the look on Cheikhou Kouyaté’s face when he recalls the most important month in his career so far. He is a man with infectious humour at the best of times; after a triumphant return to south London following success in the Africa Cup of Nations, he is positively glowing.
“I can’t explain this happiness,” he says, beaming at the memories still fresh from over a week ago. “It’s unbelievable – it was the best day of my life. The celebrations were too much!
“It’s crazy because we know it’s the first trophy for Senegal, and for us also it means we are now in the story of Senegal. When we were younger and Senegal were playing, we would support the team. Now you are a player in the team and you bring home the cup.
“When you see the people’s faces and they are so happy, you can’t explain that.”
Looking back, it all seems so simple. Senegal were tipped for glory, said to have learned from their defeat in the final three years ago, and ready to go one step further for the first time in history.
But in reality things are never as simple as they seem, and the campaign was very nearly derailed from the outset.
“We had a very bad start,” Kouyaté says. “If you look at the team before the first game, we lost 10 players because they had COVID. We didn’t have a goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders, wingers, strikers. It’s too much.
“In training, we prepared for the game using the staff: the cameraman, the kitman. The kitman was training with us because we didn’t have people for training! He was playing left-back because we needed to do tactical work.
“The first two games were played like that and it was not easy – but after the third game everyone was back.”
Cheikhou's not the only one to share his insight in the latest programme, with Darren Ambrose, Steve Parish, Patrick Vieira and more also contributing.
Club news
Manager, Chairman and captain’s notes - including Vieira's comments on Tayo Adaramola
A run-down on the opposition, including analysis and memories, a look at the key players and the stats you need to know
Seven pages dedicated to the Academy, including: player interviews, updates from the managers and staff, and a look back at our proudest graduates – Rob Quinn looks back on huge wins, we speak with new pro Adler Nascimento and Club Historian Ian King looks back on Jim Cannon's career
Insight into our earliest years in the 1800s and a feature on local non-league sides
Updates from the Palace Women players, stats for all teams, challenges, your comments and more
