Djoum set for derby after glory in Africa
ARNAUD DJOUM last night hailed winning the Africa Cup of Nations as the pinnacle of his career – before insisting he is ready to be pitched straight back into the Edinburgh derby cauldron.
The Hearts playmaker secured his place in Cameroon folklore on Sunday night by helping the Indominable Lions claim their fifth continental triumph with a 2-1 win over Egypt.
Djoum (below) was yesterday lapping up the celebrations alongside the rest of the victorious squad in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde – his home town. However, he expects to be back on Scottish soil tomorrow and will train with Hearts on Thursday.
And, while the decision about his readiness will come down to head coach Ian Cathro, Djoum has Hibs in his sights.
He said: “The dream was to lift this trophy with Cameroon and then come back to play in the match against Hibs. Winning both those matches would be an unbelievable week.
“I will hopefully be back in training with Hearts on Thursday and if the coach [Cathro] picks me then I will be ready to play in the cup match.
“This has been an incredible experience, with some very tough matches against great players like (Sadio) Mane and (Andre) Ayew, but I’m not the type of person to ask for a rest. I always want to play. I have worked hard for the opportunity to play in these big matches so I will be ready to fight for Hearts in the derby.”
Djoum, 27, played the full match in Libreville, Gabon, as Hugo Broos’s unfancied side stunned Egypt – the seven-time winners – thanks to goals from Nicolas N’Koulou and Vincent Aboubakar.
Djoum could be forgiven for doing a double-take when he returns to training with Hearts, such has been the turnover in the playing squad in his absence.
He left for Gabon early last month and, in the intervening weeks, the Jambos have snapped up nine new players.
It appears to be paying dividends, with handsome wins over Rangers and Motherwell and the likes of Andraz Struna, Aaron Hughes, Alexandros Tziolis and Esmael Goncalves already looking like astute captures.
Djoum laughed: “I have been keeping track of things at Hearts – and there has definitely been some changes!” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Spain Germany England Italy Portugal France Russia Ukraine Belgium Holland Turkey Switzerland Czech Republic Greece Romania 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Austria Croatia Poland Cyprus Belarus Sweden Norway Israel Denmark Scotland Azerbaijan Serbia Kazakhstan Bulgaria Slovenia