Leon Balogun has said qualifying for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League would be one of his greatest achievements.
Philippe Clemente’s side are in Lublin for the first leg of their third qualifying round against Dynamo Kiev.
The encounter is slated for the Lublin Arena on Tuesday (today).
Balogun stated that the ambition to reach the group stage of the competition is his biggest motivation.
“We have spoken about finances and all these things before and obviously they play a big part for various reasons, but for me reaching the group stage is the biggest motivation,” he was quoted by the club’s official website.
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“I have never played in the Champions League, I have played in qualifiers before, for Rangers as well, it didn’t work out.
“At this stage of my career it would be one of my biggest achievements, that is my personal motivation and I’m sure every single player who came out here today has their own individual reasons to go to the group stages.
“I think everybody is very determined to put in a performance tomorrow. It has obviously been a quick turnaround, but it is a big occasion.
“I am not too fussed about it coming early in the season because I think if you want to play in the Champions League there is no greater motivation in football.”
On what he expects from Dynamo Kiev, Balogun continued: “They are a very good footballing side, obviously they had a very strong performance in the last qualification round so there is quality there, but we have got quality.
“It is for us to worry about ourselves and make sure we diminish that as much as we can and try to play our football and be successful.”
By Adeboye Amosu
