The captain of the senior national team of Nigeria Ahmed Musa has revealed the role president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick played in his inclusion in the Super Eagles squad for the 2018 World Cup.
Musa at that time wasn’t getting games at English Premier League side Leicester City and they were calls for him to be excluded from the sqaud but then coach Gernot Rohr included him in the sqaud.
Recalling what led to his inclusion, Musa who ended up as Nigeria’s top scorer at the tournament told Arise TV in an interview monitored by OwnGoalNigeria.com, that his inclusion was made possible by Pinnick, who told him come what may be will be at the World Cup.
“I remember back then in Leicester when I was not playing before the World Cup, a lot of people were complaining, ‘Musa is not playing in Leicester so why is he going to the World Cup’, but the president spoke with the coach that no matter what Musa has to be in the World Cup so I went to Russia and later on he was saying you see”, he said.
He went further to say the president was also behind the call up he got to the team even when he was without a club for three months. He cites his very good relationship with the president as why he is getting such favours.
“I remember when I was back home without a club I was still called up to the Super Eagles which a lot of people questioned. We have a very good relationship with him but there is nothing personal apart from that. He believes in me and I believe in him, he knows what I can do as a leader.”
