President of the Nigeria Football Federation Amaju Pinnick has opened up on how he made coach of the Super Eagles Gernot Rohr to include Ahmed Musa in his team during the qualifiers.

Pinnick made this known in an interview with Arise TV monitored by Owngoalnigeria.com while defending the importance of national team to the careers of players in the wake of the viral news of the unpaid bonuses of the Super Eagles players.

He said in 2017, Musa wasn’t getting games at his English Premier League side Leicester City and Rohr decided to omit him from the squad for the last round of qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.

According to Pinnick, he intervened and insisted on Musa who went on to become one of the stars of the Nigerian team at the 2018 World Cup with two well taken goals against Iceland in the group stages.

“I will give you an example, in 2017 Ahmed Musa had a lot of problem with Leicester City. Because he had problems at home with his former wife but we intervened. The NFF intervened. Unknown to so many people when there was a list for the last qualifying matches, the coach decided that he wasn’t going to call Ahmed Musa because he wasn’t playing”, he explained.

“I said listened they are some players who are club players and players who are both club players and national team. That for the first time I am going to impose Ahmed Musa on you.

“We argued about it but ultimately I am the president. He agreed and what happened in Russia he scored two beautiful goals. Ahmed Musa had to come to Kano Pillars to play because the national team adds value to them”, he concluded.

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick says it is true that players of the senior national team of Nigeria have not been paid their bonuses for two years now.

The issue of unpaid bonuses was raised as part of why majority of the players who were called up for the international friendly game against Cameroon on Friday pulled out of the game, but Pinnck said that wasn’t the case as they were genuinely injured.

In an interview with Arise Television monitored by the editorial team of Owngoalnigeria.com, Pinnick argued that the players don’t survive on national team bonuses inferring that they earned more than that at their respective teams.

He also said the players need the national team to add value to their career and as a board they have ensured that the team gets the best of treatments when they travel for games. He said the players know and appreciate the effort of his board.

“Players did not back out because of the fact that their bonuses were not paid . No Nigerian national team player survives on bonuses or allowances”, Pinnick said.

“The national team adds value to players and we are not proud that we are owing. A lot of circumstances in the last two years made us not to meet up with our obligations.

“Thankfully the players know we are always there for them. Since we came on all what we do for them. We have given them all the necessities and luxuries.

“Since I came on the players fly on chartered flight in all our games. They stay in the best hotel any country that war go. The players understand that. Countries adds value to the players.

“In some countries they wait till the end of the year before calculating all the bonuses and pay even in England”, he remarked.

At least four players in the Super Eagles is Nigeria camp ahead of their friendly games against Cameroon have all spoken highly of CD Feirense of Portugal winger Marcus Abraham.

The winger was handed a first time call up
to the senior national team of Nigeria and after their full training session this morning he had made an impression on his teammates.

One of the players told Owngoalnigeria.com that Abraham is a lot similar to Samuel Chukwueze in the way he plays particularly when he cuts in from the right when he is played on the flanks.

“ He dribbles like Chukwueze. Very similar in the way he goes past his opponent. He looks a player in the future and I think he will play some part in tomorrow’s game. He is a good player”, one of the players said.

Speaking in same vein, another player said Abraham has distinguished himself so far with his darting runs at defenders and also how he gets into goal scoring positions.

“ He is not scared of running at defenders. One is tempted to kick him. I also noticed how he move in the box because it helps him to get into goal scoring positions where he most times scores”.

The soccer season is over, and for most team sports, it is the postseason and drawing to a close. However, across Europe and the world, Nigerians were on show and had a lot of experiences to entertain fans on the continent. As we tend towards more international action and prepare for qualifiers, and look forward to the new season. For the football action still going on around the world, get all the latest news and tips on betbonus and use our bet9ja code: SPORTMAX.

Ahmed Musa

Musa was a rising star in Europe after brilliant displays in the Eredivisie and Russian league, and then he slowed down in Leicester. Going back to Russia did not help, and the Super Eagles captain would end up in Saudi Arabia playing for Al Nassr. The pandemic got in the way of what could have been a revival of one of Nigeria’s key men. Musa would play only two games before the pandemic struck. No more a valuable piece in Europe, Musa would be picked up by the team of his youth and where he started his professional journey, Kano Pillars FC.

Victor Osimhen 

He had a golden boy season in France last season, playing for Lille, before a big-money move to Napoli. The Italian side was hopeful of a championship-contending season, but the coronavirus struck, and Oshimen missed a large part of the early season dealing with the virus. Upon his return, his condition and form would never peak, and Napoli would slowly lose touch with their title contention. For 70 million euros, many would call this move a bust, but according to a Goal Africa poll, the belief is that Oshimen’s move was a success, considering he had to battle adaptation, the coronavirus, and showed a lot of killer instinct when fully healthy. Napoli finished fifth this season and will miss the Champions League, but the Europa League will be a great place to start on his way to proving the doubters wrong.

Kelechi Iheanacho

The Leicester forward did not start the season on the best foot, with injuries and a lack of certainty about his place in the starting lineup. However, the Nigerian frontman finally scored his first goal of the season on February 3rd, and that opened the floodgates. The striker would be the main man for Leicester in the second half of the season, with Jamie Vardy out of form and the team hit by injuries. He would play a key part in Leicesters’s qualification for next season’s Champions League, finishing as the club’s top scorer, the first man other than Jamie Vardy to do that since 2015.

Wilfred Ndidi

Another Nigerian on the Leicester books, Wilfred Ndidi was a stalwart in the midfield when healthy, playing a total of twenty-six games in their EPL campaign. He was also present in their Europa League and Cup squads.

Spartak Trnava of Slovakia defender Izuchukwu Jude Anthony has been handed a late call up to the Super Eagles ahead of the friendly game against Cameroon on Friday.

Coach of the Nigerian team handed the 23 year old who made 14 appearances in the recently concluded season in Slovakian a chance following the withdrawal of key players which left the team short of options in defence.

His arrival which was announced by the official Twitter handle of the Super Eagles swelled the number of players in the camp to 21 as the duo of Paul Onuachu and Ahmed Musa also arrived camp the last 24 hours.

Uzochukwu is not entirely new to the Nigerian set up as he was a part of the U23 team that prosecuted the Africa U23 Cup of Nations where Nigeria crashed out at the group stage and missed out on a spot at the Olympics.

The three goalkeepers in the camp of the senior national team of Nigeria were made to undergo the usual drill for goalkeepers by the goalkeeper’s coach of the team Alloy Agu.

Agu drilled the goalkeepers for close to 45 minutes with emphasis on grip, reflex and reaction while the other outfield players were engaged in a kick about session among themselves.

Francis Uzoho, John Noble and Maduka Okoye all took part in the session for the entire duration and it was the newly installed first choice Okoye who was magnificent during the drills.

He showed the form that made him keep his spot as first choice of Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam with sharp reflexes and reactions to efforts hit at him by Agu. His grip has also improved a lot.

The duo of Uzoho and Noble also did well but Okoye stood out with his confidence level at his peak. A fallout of the regular run of games he enjoyed in the just concluded season.

The senior national team of Nigeria had their first training session ahead of Friday’s friendly game against Cameroon in Austria.

20 players which includes 17 outfield players and three goalkeepers took part in the light session which is meant to help the players loosen up after their trip to the camp.

Coach of the team Gernot Rohr and his assistants put the players through their paces before having them play a small kick about among themselves by sharing them into two teams.

Sources at the session revealed to Owngoalnigeria.com that Kelechi Iheanacho stole the show with a performance that mirrors his form for Leicester City at the end of the season.

He was brilliant all through, spraying passes, skipping past his markers and also hitting efforts on target with less stress all through the session.

New Boys Terem Moffi and Marcus Abraham also had a swell time with the latter impressing with his ability to get past his man in close areas. He completed more dribbles than any player all through the session

Moffi showed why he is so highly rated in Ligue 1 where he scored 13 goals in his debut season for Lorient with three well taken strikes. His use of his body strength in duels was also another aspect of his game that caught the eyes.

Coach of Stoke City Michael O’Neil says former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel will remain at the club for another season after his impressive performance for the team in the just concluded season.

The 34 year old played in 39 of Stoke City’s games in the English Championship with his performance against Bournemouth on the final day of the season one that got the manager singing his praises.

You can see with performances like that why he was at Chelsea for such a length of time in his career. He’s been a top player who has won everything in the game.

“He’s been a brilliant signing. When we’re compact as a team we get the best of John. He’s very positive around the club, a lot of help for the young players and I’m delighted to have him.”

He is counting on the Nigerian to help his team move up from their mid table finish in the concluding season to a top six finish next season with a view of securing promotion back to the top flight.

However it appears their is no way back for midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo at the club after his return from a loan spell in Turkey with Galatasary.

Galatasary have already informed Stoke City that they won’t be exercising the option of signing the 24 year old permanently and with two years left on his deal, the Championship side are keen on cashing in on him.

He isn’t seen as an option by the manager next season and the club has put him up for sale with a fee of around £3 million expected to be generated from his likely sale.

Simy Nwankwo has emerged as a striker in hot demand after scoring 20 goals in 38 Serie A game for Crotone who were relegated at the end of the season in Italy.

The 29 year old has been told he is free to leave the club with one year left on his deal and so far there have been offers for him but mostly from mid table teams in the Serie A.

The like of Genoa, Sampdoria and Udinese have been credited with an interest in signing the lanky forward with Lazio, the only team in European competition for next season showing interest so far.

Reacting to the decision of the big teams to look away from the Nigerian, Italy based Nigerian agent Michael Anthony said it’s largely due to his age and the fact that it took him so long to make an impact in Italy.

“ The top teams are wary of signing him. There are doubts if this season is just a one off considering the length of time it took him to make such an impression in Italy. But it’s mainly due to his age . He is 29 and carries little or no resale value and he has no proven record”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.

“ Crotone will also demand a princely sum with the player also gunning for improved wage. He will no doubt leave Crotone but I doubt if he will get a move to a top team”, he concluded.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says he will use the Friday’s friendly game against Cameroon to access players who have been called up to the team for the first time.

The coach made this known after their first training session in Austria ahead of the game. He said the absence of some regular players have opened the door for him to hand debut to players who are new in the team.

He said the need to try new players is so because the team will not have another opportunity to test players ahead of the start of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers, where they will play against Liberia and Cape Verde respectively in their first two games.

“ This test match as you can see many players are not here. It’s an opportunity for us to try other players to see new faces and they will have the chance to show something”, Rohr said.

“It’s always important to prepare very well for the World Cup qualifiers. It’s the last opportunity now to do something, to test to prepare well for our World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Cape Verde. So we must use this opportunity to be ready to have a good competition in the team”.

His statement will no doubt encourage the new players which is the duo of Terem Moffi and Marcus Abraham as they will know they are in the frame for their debut on Friday.