Super Eagles’ skipper, Ahmed Musa, in an interview with Saturday Telegraph’s CHARLES OGUNDIYA said the senior national team must qualify for the
2026 FIFA World Cup to regain the confidence of the fans. Excerpts:
How has it been returning to the Nigerian League and playing almost every game for your team, Kano Pillars?
This is where I started from. So it’s not a new thing for me. So whenever I have the opportunity to help the team, I always do that. Would you say returning alongside your friend, Shehu Abdullahi, helped you to cope better? Like I said, the both of us started from Nigeria league so it’s nothing new for us. As you can see, my friend is here, I’m here so we’re all doing our best to make the team move forward. At the end of the league, we’re going to see where we’re going to stop.
Can you say there is a difference between the time you started here and this period?
Huge difference if I may say. Before you coundn’t go away and win but nowadays you can see a lot of clubs going away to get results, so it’s a good achievement but we have to work harder on some of our pitches. Apart from the pitches, which other areas, do you think should be improved upon? I’m not a board member of most of the team so I don’t know how to say it but for me I think for the league we have to improve we’ve to improve the pitches. The reception from the fans since you returned to the league has been massive, how would you describe the reception in Lagos? There is nothing much to say about it because the game against Ikorodu City was behind closed doors, so there were no fans at the stadium on the day. Seriously, I think we need to talk to our fans so that teams don’t get suspended and then lead to fine and closed door games. Imagine the atmosphere if it was open game, the game was like a friendly game with no fans to cheer either team up in the game.
You lost your game against Ikorodu City 4-1 recently, do you feel bad?
As you can see, that is football. So we lost the game, so that is part of the game.
You are on the pitch for 90 minutes despite little knock, was it a case of trying to push your teammates as a captain?
I can’t leave, I have to push my team and see what we can get from the game. Yes, a little knock but I know I can continue right in the forward. So, I decided to do that and after the game, I was able to check what happened to me.
It was 3-0 in the first leg, the second leg ended 4-1, are you disappointed losing with such margin?
The point is I was not in the first leg, so I can only talk about the second leg that we lost together. Like I said earlier, that is football. Football is you lose, win or draw in any game. So we lost the game. It doesn’t matter the number of goals, what is paramount here is that we lost three points to our opponents, which is more important.
Kano Pillars next game, what are your expectations?
It’s a must win game for us because we lost a very big game against Ikorodu City in our last game in Lagos. We were thinking we’re going to have a point in Lagos, but that is football at the end of the game. We just have to focus on the game at home to see if we have another three points.
You are still part of the Super Eagles team, as you are yet to announce your retirement, what would you say about the draw for the AFCON?
As you can see there is no smaller country nowadays so we just have to stick to our own plans, talk to ourselves. The last time we were at the AFCON, we finished second so it’s going to be tough but we are going to do our best to win the trophy for Nigeria
You are part of the team that won the last AFCON in 2013, do you think Nigeria is ripe for another title push?
Most of our players are doing very well in their various leagues, everybody’s scoring but at the end of the day, it is going to be a different scenario at the AFCON because if they cannot replicate their form when we come together, there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to talk to our own boys to give their best. However, the most important thing is the World Cup qualifiers. We have to see how we can make it as a team and get our fans back behind us so they can return to watching the Super Eagles. That is more important now because right now, most of the fans are just not happy with the Super Eagles and we just have to regain the confidence of our own fans.
You started your career at a very tender age, can you describe the beginning playing for almost all the national teams at the same time?
It was a privilege to do that and an honour. I started from my early stage, playing for the U-20, U-23 and the Super Eagles. It was a great honour and it was not that easy. No one is going to have the opportunity, because nowadays all the players just want to play for the Super Eagles. It’s not difficult for me because I always want to do that. I always want to represent my country. That is why I always advise the young ones. It’s an honour. Just don’t think about the Super Eagles alone, you need to start somewhere.
Your professional career started with JUTH FC of Jos before Kano Pillars scouted you, and then straight to the WAFU team, can you tell us about the transition?
I signed for JUTH for a season but I didn’t start the league earlier as I was not getting playing time under the coach, then we have another coach, then the second round the coach that came saw me in the training and asked, “Why is Musa not playing?” So that was how I started my first game against Heartland FC, I think in Owerri and the game ended 1-0 but we equalized, I actually scored the equalizer, but the referee disallowed the goal, you know that was Nigeria League of then. If you see then and now you can’t compare the both league together because then it was so difficult and now these days you can play good football but not back then. It was more of kick and follow then with no hope of getting anything away from home unlike now.
You won the WAFU Cup with the Super Eagles in Abeokuta, making it your first major trophy for the Super Eagles, can you tell us about the experience?
Yes, we won that tournament in Abeokuta. I feel very happy because I think I was the smallest in the team. So I play with the likes of Ike ThankGod, Gbolahan Salami, Gabriel Reuben, and some great players then. I think that was the starting point for me in the Super Eagles. I think that is what makes everyone think I have been in the Super Eagles forever. I remembered I was asked if I have passport at the time and I said yes, I went ahead to give them a passport photograph, I was naive then and all I wanted to do was to play football.
You moved to Europe just around that time, how were you able to cope as a young boy?
It was a tough moment for me because when I went to VV Venlo, it was too cold. So whenever I finish training I have to start crying because my legs and hands were freezing. I cried every day at the time because of so much discomfort. It is not easy because when you remember where you are coming from, the kind of situation in Africa, you just have to sacrifice and do a lot of things. So, I had to adapt, put everything aside and then say this is a starting point for me to make my family proud and then have something to feed the family.
When you started at JUTH, what would you say about the influence of the team’s Media Officer at the time, Olusola Alao, on your career?
I will say a lot because when he saw me on duty, whether within and outside the country, he always encourage me. Most of the time, he will call me and tell me that ‘you’re going to go far, I see a lot of potential in you.’ Often times, when my team wins, we always talk. I always tell him, thank you. Like I said, he has a lot of impact on my career.
The CHAN championship is coming up later in August, are we going to see you playing for the team?
For me, if I’m still in Nigeria, then if I get a call up, I will always respect my country. But if I’m not in Nigeria again, because the European league should have started by August when the competition will take place, so I can’t really say what will happen.
There’s always a rumor that you might be going into politics, how true is that?
Yeah, definitely. As a young person nowadays, you can see most of the politicians are almost going to the end of their peak.
So if we, the young ones, don’t take their seats, who is going to lead the country?
So let’s see what can happen after my career. I will see if I’m going to go into politics or not. But I think definitely we, the young ones, have to start from somewhere.
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