One of the players of Antwerp that got a mention by the head coach of Barcelona after their shock 2-3 loss to the Belgium side in the UEFA Champions League was Nigerian midfielder Alhassan Yusuf.
Xavi gave particular praise to the midfielder for his role in the first and third goal scored by the Belgium side not to mention the fact that he also grabbed an assist in the game, which was their first win in the tournament.
” When you see how we conceded the first goals it’s the same like the third. Where a press is on by the same player (Alhassan Yusuf). We didn’t command the ball properly and losing it in that manner around our box opens the door to be punished”, he said after the game.
Yusuf who was on target against FC Porto in the same tournament has surprisingly not been given a chance with the senior national team of Nigeria. He has thrice been handed provisional invitation but missed out on the final list of players for the games in question.
He was first called up for the friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador respectively in May last year, but failed to make it to the USA due to visa hitch. It was the first set of games the team will play under the new coach Jose Peseiro.
Peseiro handed him another invitation for the friendly game against Algeria but he was a shock omission from the final list of players for the sqaud for the game.
His rise from the little boy who was scouted while playing in the Tika-Taka tournament in Abuja to IFK Goteborg of Sweden and later Antwerp, where he won the league last season his rise has been phenomenal.
A Super Eagles call up is still what the 24 year old is yet to achieve with sources close to Peseiro saying he isn’t quite convinced about the Kano state born midfielder because of his height. He stands at around five feet tall, making him the shortest among all players in his role available to the coach.
However all of those won’t matter if he continues to drop impressive performances like yesterday. Already many in Belgium have likened him to the closest thing to France midfield star N’golo Kante.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
