Riyad Mahrez is happy to be a leader for Algeria, but insists team unity will be crucial if Djamel Belmadi’s side are to impress in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Algeria – AFCON winners in 1990 – start their campaign against Kenya on Sunday and will also face Senegal and Tanzania in Group C.
Mahrez captains the squad, which also includes Porto’s Yacine Brahimi and Fenerbahce striker Islam Slimani.
And though Mahrez is proud to shoulder the responsibility of leading Algeria in the competition, the 28-year-old – who was awarded the African Footballer of the Year award in 2016 – believes team spirit, and not individual quality, will be key to success.
“It is a responsibility that I am proud to assume,” Manchester City forward Mahrez said when asked about the captaincy. “You have to be a leader on and off the pitch.
“But we don’t go into the game worrying about who is a great player or who has won the African Footballer of the Year award.
“I’m part of a collective, the most important thing is the team.”
This will be the first encounter between Algeria and Kenya at the AFCON, and Mahrez acknowledged the opponents present something of an unknown quantity.
“We do not know much about Kenya. We didn’t face them before,” Mahrez added.
“But we watched their matches and we played against similar teams during friendly games and we will give everything to win the match.”
Mahrez’s fellow Premier League player Victor Wanyama is Kenya’s key man, and the Tottenham midfielder believes Algeria must be considered among the favourites for the title.
“There are many strong teams in the tournament, but I have to say Senegal, Algeria and Morocco with hosts Egypt [are the favourites],” Wanyama told Goal.
“Football in Africa has developed greatly with stars in the world’s largest teams, you can see the top scorers in Premier League are all from Africa.
“[Kenya] are playing in the tournament for the first time in a long time. We will play very difficult matches against teams with top-class stars, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez and many more, but we are confident in our ability as a group.”
