Shevchenko an Idol - Ghana's Caleb Ekuban On Genoa Manager After Goal(video) in Italian Cup

• Caleb Ekuban has hailed his idol, Andriy Shevchenko, manager of his Italian team, Genoa after his first goal for the club
• Ekuban scored the only goal in Genoa's round 32 knockout fixture in the Coppa Italia against Salernitana
• The win was manager Shevchenko's first win in charge of Genoa since his appointment to the Italian club's dugout last month

Italy-born Ghana Black Stars attacker, Caleb Ekuban has labelled his manager at Italian side, Genoa, Andriy Shevchenko, as his idol after netting his first goal.

The 27-year-old Ghanaian said the former Chelsea and AC Milan player who was also a UEFA Champions League and Ballon d'Or winner, had won everything in football.

Ekuban said he was pleased to have scored the goal that brought Shevchenko's first win as Genoa manager to him, adding that he was keen to learn everything Shevchenko teaches him.

"Sheva is an idol for me, he has won everything in this sport. Every time he talks and explains things to me, I feel admiration and try to benefit as much as possible ," he concluded.

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Since Shevchenko's appointment to the Genoa bench, the clubs has played six games including the Salernitana game, and they've lost four and drawn one.

Caleb Ekuban noted how emotional it was to be the player that got the goal that gave Genoa it's first win during that period.

"I am very happy for the goal. The tears after the goal are the result of an explosion dictated by the moment we are going through. I feel good that my goal brought the team qualifying for the next round of the Italian Cup," he said after the game.

Genoa will face AC Milan in the next round of the Italian cup and Ekuban recognized how tough that game would be and how the win over Salernitana could go a long way to boost their confidence.

"It was not an easy match, this victory is very important to gain confidence and self-esteem", he said.

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Caleb Ekuban joined the Italian Serie A club at the start of the 2020/2021 season in August, from Turkish side Trabzonspor for a fee of around 10 million Ghana cedis (1.5 million euros).

The forward has played 13 of the 17 Italian Serie A games and two Coppa Italia games for for Genoa already and the goal against Salernitana was his first for the club.

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Meanwhile, former Arsenal captain, Granit Xhaka has earmarked Ghana Black Stars deputy captain, Thomas Partey for a leadership role at the club amid club's captaincy talk.

The Swiss national team captain said like himself, Partey was also one of the experienced players in Mikel Arteta's team.