After helping FK Partizani lift the 2022/2023 Kategoria Superiore, Nigerian forward Christian Mba says his focus is now to explore the UEFA Champions League qualifiers with a view to scaling through to the group stage with the Albanian champions.
Christian Mba, in his debut season, contributed to FK Partizani’s triumph by scoring five goals and four assists in the Albanian topflight and he also expressed his readiness to help his club make a meaningful impact in the foremost club competition in Europe- UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds.
“In Europe, playing the Champions League qualifiers is a great opportunity”, Mba told https://dasportstainment247.com.
“Right now I am getting ready for it because it is something I have been waiting for and I don’t want to miss the opportunity. We are going to play a couple of games and I believe it is a platform for me to show everything I have and also improve on the areas I am lacking in.”
Mba started his football career in Asaba, Delta State, South-South, Nigeria where he featured for some amateur sides before leaving the shores of the country. His first point of call was an unproductive stint in Turkey from where he moved to Kosovo to join KF Trepca 89.
Speaking on his football journey, Mba stated: “I came to Kosovo in January 2022 to join KF Trepca 89 who were playing in the first division and I helped the team to gain promotion to the Super League. I stayed with them for six months in the Super League and scored 10 goals before my transfer to Albania.”
Mba joined FK Partizani in the second stanza of the championship and his efforts were good enough to see Partizani move from second to first position. He featured in all 18 games in the second round of the league and was among the notable goal scorers.
On how he was able to adapt and make an impact in his new club, Mba had this to say:
“When I joined FK Partizani, there were some obstacles. Some good and bad days, but I was listening to the coach to know what he wanted from me as s striker.
“I worked, took a personal trainer and I was able to get fit to the extent that I became a regular till the end of the season. I had the opportunity to learn and had an amazing time with the team”.
Despite the feat of winning the Albanian Kategoria Superiore and the prospect of playing in Europe’s topflight club competition, Mba says he will value the chance to move to bigger European clubs where he will have “bigger challenges”.
“I dream big. I have set a big target for myself, so if the opportunity comes I would love to leave to face bigger challenges,” Mba said.
Mba helped FK Partizani to win their 17th title on head-to-head ahead of FK Tirana for the first time since the 2018-19 season. FK Partizani and FK Tirana finished the season with 67 points each after 36 games but FK Partizani were declared champions having won twice, drew once and lost once the four times they played during the regular season.
