My mum’s prayer worked against Ethiopia– Musa

Culled from punch:



CSKA Moscow forward, Ahmed Musa, landed in South Africa for the Africa Cup of Nations aiming to hit the ground running.

He scored nine goals in 29 appearances for CSKA in the Russian Premier League and hoped to sustain the tempo in his first appearance at the continental showpiece.

But after playing three matches for the Super Eagles in South Africa 2013 Musa has yet to hit the target.


 Coach Stephen Keshi was forced to give the former VVV Venlo star a substitute role   in the 2-0 defeat of Ethiopia on Tuesday, after his mediocre showing in the encounters with Burkina Faso and Zambia in the group stage of the competition.

Although Musa says he is disappointed not to have replicated   his club form in South Africa, he remains optimistic that the goals will come against Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Musa told our correspondent in Rustenburg after Tuesday’s game that he draws inspiration from his mother’s prayer   each time there is a tough match, and that it worked for the Eagles.

Nigeria would have crashed out of the event if the Eagles had lost or drawn with Ethiopia and Zambia had beaten Burkina Faso.

“Before the game (against Ethiopia), I called my mother on the telephone and told her that we had a great match on hand. I asked her to pray for me and for the team and I am sure that her prayer worked for Nigeria.

“My family feel good that I played a part in the victory. My wife called me immediately after the match but  I could not pick her  call. I later read her text message congratulating me and the team. It took away my pain and gave me the joy I dreamt of.

 “I did not start the match but I am not bothered about that. The coach has a plan and he makes use of the players in the best way to achieve victory. I am a professional player and patience one of the things I must possess. I am not angry about that. It’s a loaded team and everyone will get his chance to play.

“I have not scored a goal here but hopefully I will score before the end of the competition. A striker must be patient to score goals. I have given my best in this competition but I know I can do better. I have yet to hit my form. Hopefully, the match against Ivory Coast will give me an opportunity  to win back my fans.”

The 20-year-old insisted that the Eagles are not afraid to take on tournament  favourites Elephants in Sunday’s quarterfinal, tipping Nigeria to reach the semifinals.

Musa said,  “Ivory Coast are rated far above Nigeria but rating does not play football. If it does, we wouldn’t have struggled to beat Ethiopia. Nigeria are  bigger than Ethiopia in football but we all saw how well they played against us. You should give credit to the Ethiopians.

“What I am saying is that we have a great chance against Ivory Coast,  though we are rated below them and I hope to play a great part in it.

“This is my first Nations Cup and I want to make it memorable. But I cannot do it alone, I have to rely on my teammates to  make it. I came here to win and I still think we deserve to win.”

On the rumour linking him with a £10m move to Arsenal in the summer.  Musa said he did not know anything about it as there was no meeting between Arsenal and his club.

The former Kano Pillars  striker said, “I don’t know anything about Arsenal. I have to concentrate on achieving great things with my current  club and that is very important.

“I am an Arsenal fan, no doubt about that. I love the club and maybe one day I will play for them.”

Musa’s hairstyle distinguishes him from his teammates and  he says it is  specifically  for the competition.

He said, “I have a special hairstyle for the Nations Cup but I have not given it a name. When we win the cup, I will surely give it a name but that  I must keep to myself until then.

 “People expect us  to do better than we have done  here so far  but football is  all about the result.  We are getting the results the  hard way but we must also remember that this is a young team that needs time to blend and deliver better results.

“The players are human beings; they love victory and they want to be heroes. But it’s a big task and you are competing against the best from other countries. I am confident that we can win the Nations Cup with what we have achieved so far. Teams get better as the competition progresses so we are confident of lifting our game.”