I want to leave with my head held high

Al Ain Club’s all-time top scorer, Togolese international Laba Kodjo, confirmed that his contract with Al-Zaeem expires after four months, indicating his desire to achieve the largest possible number of titles before leaving, so that he can leave with his head held high. At the same time, he expressed his happiness at scoring a goal on his 35th birthday, during the victory over Kalba 3-1, in the meeting that brought the two teams together today, Tuesday, at Kalba Stadium.

Laba Kodjo said in press statements after the match, which witnessed the presence of about a thousand spectators, the majority of whom were “Violet” fans: “I am in the last four months of my contract with Al Ain. I enjoy being here and doing my duty on the field, and I cannot relax. It is true that my contract is approaching its end, but this motivates me to give more than 100% in order to achieve the goals.”

He added: “I want to win many titles this season before leaving the club, and I want to leave with my head held high, so I always focus on my goals and work hard to help the team achieve victories.”

The Togolese striker expressed his happiness by registering on his birthday, saying: “I am happy to register on my 35th birthday, and I thank my fellow players and the fans who supported us. These are important points, and we must now focus on the next match, because it is no less important, as every next match is important.”

He continued: “Facing Kalba on its home field is always difficult. In the first half we tried to score but we did not succeed, but things improved in the second half, and we had to be patient.”

With this victory, Al Ain temporarily raised its score to 34 points at the top of the ADNOC Professional League standings, awaiting Shabab Al Ahly’s confrontation with Ajman this evening, while Kalba’s score froze at 16 points in eighth place.

The goal scored by Laba Kodjo contributed to raising his scoring tally to 134 goals, placing him in fifth place on the list of all-time top scorers in the league competition, after he broke up the partnership with Al-Shaab Club legend Adnan Taliani.