Ahead of Sunday’s 2023 AFCON qualifier against Sierra Leone, Jose Peseiro has cleared the air on why Ahmed Musa is always invited for Super Eagles matches despite criticism from different quarters.
Musa’s call-up for the game against the Leone Stars was frowned at with many positing there are better players who deserved to be invited.
The duo of Gift Orban and Victor Boniface were left out despite their impressive scoring form for Gent and Union Saint-Gilloise respectively.
Also, Nice striker Terem Moffi was overlooked for the game against the Leone Stars.
Following the criticism over his call-up, Musa wrote on his Twitter handle:“Like me or hate me, a day will come that you will tell your kids a story about Ahmed Musa MON.”
When asked in his pre-match presser on Saturday about the backlash he got for inviting Musa for the qualifier, Peseiro stated that the 2013 AFCON winner remains one of Nigeria’s best players.
“I have heard about that a lot (criticism for always inviting Musa),” Peseiro said.
“He’s here because I believe in him and I choose the best players and he is one of our best players so that’s why he is here to play.“
On his team’s target against Sierra Leone on Sunday, Peseiro said it is to secure the three points.
“We want to win all the time and we have the responsibility of wanting to win every time. We know the capability of our opponent we beat them 2-1 before (match day one) but they took the lead and it was not easy.
“We have a good team, good players and we want to win and I expect the same for Sierra Leone.“
The Portuguese coach reflected on the shock 1-0 loss to Guinea-Bissau in Abuja.
“We want to fight, we want to put in maximum focus and concentration to beat Sierra Leone. We lost to Guinea-Bissau but that happens in football we created lots of opportunities but Guinea-Bissau had luck and they beat us, we were better than Guinea-Bissau but they beat us.”
40 Comments
Musa is a political selection and Peseiro a coward This coach is killing the chances of younger players who should be there in place of Ahmed Musa.
Please when is the eagles playing today
Browse it out
Why are we quick to condemn , people, I could remember after when we lost to Senegal @Mali2001 semifinal we where quick to condemn players not knowing that Senegal was actually good. We forced the board to chase away amodu shaibu that qualified us to that year world cup,we killed the super eagle from that year , we blamed oruma that missed penalty, we expelled buck of our senior players which includes Oliseh, finidi,babangida and co, we took rookies to the world cup. What was the outcome? Our worst world cup ever till date. The same thing happened on and on we are quick to condemn players that they are old. We took Mikel when he was not ready for the super eagle but when we needed his maturity and experience we began to insult him, because Mikel is a proud guy that can not manage criticism He retired. I call Mikel caward for that. Mikel would have been our Andre pirlo of Nigeria, play him more deeper not as number 10 . We need smooth transition not forcing players to retire. That is the reason my best national team remain the Nerazuri of Italy , I called them the old fine wine. Shalom.
This is the BEST CSN COMMENT of ALL TIME…
GOD BLESS you my BROTHER @VALENTINE
Mr. Coach, if you are sure of what you just said. Start him in today’s match and let him play for 90mins for Nigerians to judge his performance.
This man knows nothing.
You said he is one of the best players and you always bring him in at extra time after 90 mins of football to play for 1 or 2 mins.
The question here is since when you have been inviting him to camp, when last was he rated along with other players ?
You think you are deceiving Nigerians, na yourself you dey deceive.
Can you imagine! Musa is one of our best players! Oga o! Nawa o!
It is well.
Get this political toad of a Portuguese Coach out of Nigeria.
I don’t think many Nigerian fans hate Musa. Personally, I used to have a lot of respect for him. He has contributed immensely to the success of Nigerian football at both youth and senior levels.
What some fans seem to detest is the seeming greed, discomforting insatiable quest being displayed by the player when it is evidently clear he is not able to contribute anymore on the field of play.
The apparent quest to acquire more international caps, participate in more major tournaments than any player while sitting on the bench and depriving more deserving younger players is flat-out wrong.
Ahmed Musa along with a few other dead-weights on the team should respectfully leave.
As for Mr. Peeiro, his actions or lack there-of smacks of someone who is somewhat compromised.
Are you guys not tire of doing all this shalaye?….when you see yourself always defending a action and struggling to validate that action in the eyes of the public then it’s time to do away with such a action…..A wise old proverb says.
“AND HE is ONE of our BEST PLAYERS”
You have said it all COACH!
Hmmmm @ ugo has probably gone to church he hasn’t seen this headline.
Is as if you can see me Indeed I jumped on the thread as i just return from church and Gym…I have seen it o! bros @Yinkus. Hmmmm is it not shameful! But bro I am even more pained than ever a puppet is what we now have as a coach a compromised hegoat
Musa you didn’t win World Cup so I will not tell my kids about a politician who just want to be accumulating matches for personal Glory.
I think we should leave Musa alone.. he is highly respected by the players and his presence is beyond playing football on the pitch… As a leader , he brings unity and a sense of purpose to the team… This happens almost with every team.. Ronaldo isn’t at his peak but gets invited always.. you don’t buy experience in the market.. the coach knows why he needs Musa so let’s allow him do his job
@OLOLO please tell me where you RECIDE.I need to MEET with you so I can BUY you at least TWO STICKS of CIGARETTES for this your very INTELLIGENT comment…
The Coach made it clear why he is including Musa, He said it last window so Musa can Act as Mediator between him and NFF for a new contract…
My thing is this. Is that how to go about a new contract?. Should a coach not show he is deserving on the field of play.. how does he do that
1. Select the strongest squad
2.show your coaching acumen
3.utilise the best legs available for the country
Has he ticked the boxes on this.. CAPITAL NO!!
The wrong coach however will
1.Select players on bias and for a benefit his benefit I.e. money or in his case someone to save his Job
2. Zero coaching acumen
3.spew trash to the public to justify his wrong doings
Has he ticked any off these boxes. We’ll he scored 3 out of 3 for wrongs
So my question now is. If Musa is to act as Mediator should it be in the boardroom on on the field.
If Musa is as good as this croock of a coach claim then surely Musa must start tonight. And play all of 90 mins. Since Musa can bring more now than Gift Orban and Victor Boniface.. thank you
Woow, you’re actually comparing Ronaldo’s role in the Portuguese team to that of musa’s in the Nigerian team, really? Ronaldo plays and scores, Ronaldo will get get into any of the top 10 clubs in the world, Ronaldo is relevant in any team he’s in,is musa even a regular in his club that necessitates him for a call up? it’s this kind of rubbish that has been killing the Nigerian national team and will kill this present one again
@Adebisi Thats Nigerians for you.. its a shock and shame. Comparing the most Consistent player in the world the GOAT to probably the most inconsistent. Comparing Portugals all time Goal scorer the All time International goal Scorer to a player who has 16 coals in 116 games meaning he has not scored for Nigeria in a 100 games he has played as a forward player.
And thats the justification he makes for Musa invite without shame nawa ooo
Even if they win, I do not believe in these set of Eagles. No aggressive players to forge ahead against all odds just to win. No proper defensive architecture to ensure wins are preserved.
My only joy was that I was opportuned to watch a prodigiously gifted set of Super Eagles who made the entire country of Bulgaria to cry in 1994. Not thus bunch that CAR and Guinea Bissau defeated in Nigeria. The 94 set made Nigerians proud among Africans and that is one of the reasons they don’t like Nigeria, but these ones…..
I love Musa a lot, and I respect him for his leadership role. However, no long thing. He should know when to quit.
That is the difference between Mikel and Musa.
As I said a few days ago, I have no passion for this set of Super Eagles no more because politics is everything in Nigeria.
We don’t do something on merit. The same thing applies to the new gaffer and the ex coach, Oga Rohr.
Until we change our ways of doing things, then we are going to see the result.
Musa has no reason to be in that squad. Yes. He’s long over stayed. I love our Super Eagles too much but NFF have destroyed our football and I can’t waste my time watching Super Eagles playing kerewa kerewawa style of football anymore.
All I can say is good luck to our boys. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
This coach is more of a politician than a coach. One of the best who sits on the bench and only comes in with a few mins to play. I am not even confident Musa starts for his club… yeye dey smell. I would have had more respect if he said musa is in the team because of his leadership qualities. That is easier to swallow than this cow dung that he is shoving down our throats.
The selection in our national team just re-echoes all that is wrong with our nation. People are never selected based on competence but on paddy paddy, national quota reasons. To worsen the situation , the clowns in administration have not increased the quota for local based players. I can bet , not one of those local based players will start. Are we not deceiving ourselves and living in a fools paradise? Our national team should be a representation of the best footballers in the country and age or where they ply their trade should never be a factor for team selection but on their quality. We all know why these criminals have increased the quota, it is so they can make money from the sale of players who get the required international exposure when they play for the nation. Iwuala was once the talk on everyone lips and was in the team till he joined esperance de Tunis. By the time NFF is done with our football , Sao tome will be spanking us.
Does Peseiro have tactics, game formation, or even a structural game plan? How’s the teams realm when pressing and even when attacking/defending? Do we even get to see a meaningful tactical network of positioning with the team when on/off the ball?
Abeg Jareh! A man can only offer what he has! I assume is politics that put him in that position as our national team coach. Honestly speaking, I would do a 1000 times better than him in terms of team unification, discipline, coordination and all.
Even his choices says it all! Imagine the combination of players on the pitch; play formation that could be 1000% predictable by opponents!
The team on the pitch doesn’t even present any possibility of realm…say it’s pressing football….you find a dull ebule shearing space with young wereh kite.
Zero professional tackles, zero professional recoveries and potential goal achievable Ono on one take on….
It’s a famed intelligent dribbles that either hands a goal kick or a useless throw-in to the opponents!
I wish a Nigerian that see football the way I see it can coach our team! We would just rise up one day like Croatia and shock the world!
PASEIRO, STOP GIVING EXCUSES ABOUT THE INVITATION OF AHMED MUSA INTO SUPER EAGLE. MUSA IS CREATING SHORT-ONE TO THE TEAM, AND BLOCKING THE CHANCES OF YOUNG AGGRESSIVE PLAYER THAT WANT TO SHINE.
IN THIS COUNTRY, WE ALWAYS LIKE TO BE DECEIVING OURSELVES CONCERNING THE ISSUE OF EXPERIENCE PLAYER.
*** WHY FRANCE DIDN’T TAKE BENZEMA TO WORLD CUP. OR WHICH OF THE FRENCH PLAYERS HAVE GREAT EXPERIENCE BENZEMA HAVE( a player that won ballon d’or, won about four champions league)
*** WHY ARGENTINA DIDN’T TAKE AGUERO TO WORLD CUP BECAUSE OF EXPERIENCE HE HAS. OR WHICH OF THE PRESENT ARGENTINA PLAYERS (apart from MESSI) HAVE EVER SCORE GOALS REACH AGUERO.
EXPERIENCE PLAYER THAT IS NOT FIT, IN-FORM, OR CONSISTENT ON THE FIELD OF PLAY SHOULD BE DROPPED.
I### IN 2002, WE TOOK EXPERIENCE ADEPOJU (INSTEAD OF OJIGWE) TO WORLD CUP, THEN WHAT IS OUR ACHIEVEMENT: FAILURE
### WE TOOK EXPERIENCE KANU TO 2010 W/CUP, THEN WHAT IS OUR ACHIEVEMENT: FAILURE.
EXPERIENCE PLAYERS THAT IS NOT FIT SHOULD BE DROPPED !!!
When Ahmed Musa have played for his club last in Turkey?
IF PASEIRO NEED HIS MENTORSHIP, LET HIM (Musa) retires as a player AND THEN JOIN THE TECHNICAL CREW.
WE, NIGERIANS APPRECIATE MUSA FOR HIS POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION HE HAS DONE TO SUPER EAGLE IN THE PAST. WE SAY: WE LOVE YOU. BUT WE ARE TIRED OF SEEING YOU PLAY ON THE FIELD. BECAUSE AGE IS NOT AT YOUR SIDE ANY MORE. PLEASE STEPDOWN NOW BEFORE YOU WILL BE DISGRACE BY AGGRESSIVE YOUNGER PLAYERS OR EMBARRASSED BY FANS.
WE LOVE YOU ONCE AGAIN !!!
YOU ARE NOT A GOOD COACH
TO BE HONEST YOU ARE NOT THE COACH THAT WILL BRING GLORY TO NIGERIA SUPER EAGLES
Benin held Mighty Senegal to a 1 all draw and guess who was their coach????? General Rohr!!! The man some knuckle heads said was a mechanic…..hahahaha. If he could draw senegal with the calibre of players at his disposal, imagine what he would’ve done with se…
I like this! Pure tactician. Politicians and external calibers with shallow technical know-how invading dressing room killed GR potential classic with Super Eagles!
Mr. Rohr and his Benin Republic team will not be at the Nations Cup in Ivory Coast next year and that is with a round of fixtures to spare.
Hasn/t won a match since he took over.
That was part of what got them here.
You cleverly refrained from telling us that Benin was on a 3 match losing streak before GR took over, and since then he hasn’t lost a match. I think the team still has a mathematical chance should they beat Mozambique.
Hahahaha…..You will know a blatant liar and a cheap crook who is just hell-bent on maligning an innocent hardworking man’s personality with his half-truths when you see one. Thank you for educating the ignoramus….LMAOOo. They think we all are fools and haven’t been following proceedings down there.
Rohr has not lost a game with a side that had zero points and was firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, points adrift of their closest groupmate as at matchday 3.
Less than 10 training sessions and 3 games later the team now scores goals and hasn’t lost a game, 3rd in the group and has now scored more goals than their nearest rival, and he opens his wide mouth to claim “….That was part of what got them here….” LMAOOoo. If they had managed to get the type of results Rohr is getting now b4 he came on board, they would by now still be in contention for a place in the AFCON.
Rohr was supposed to be Guru Gujarati who will just breeze in midway into the qualifiers and fly Benin on his flying mat to the top of the group…..LMAOOo.
Please tell him to mind his fast sinking National team that can win AFCON with any coach in 2 weeks…..LMAOoo.
A man who is down fears no fall…! Even the Beninoise FA cannot claim engaging Rohr has not been a wise venture for them.
I wouldn’t blame rohn, he came in when they are badly positioned in the table but he has not done so badly.. holding Senegal to a draw with a low benin is a huge achievement… Remember Benin lost all their group games before rohr came im
Anyone who’s not Happy with his inclusion let him go and replace him. Always biased.
When truth is being spoken or written few people would be irrational.Ahmed Musa is loved by football fans on the basis of his good performance in the past pertinently, he has passed his prime ditto paid his due in SE , period.
Younger players in Orban, Boniface etc are being denied chance at present. Certain players quit SE at appropriate time when Musa got his chance years back without clamouring, so he should leave the way for others to come in now.
No one is biased! If he’s good enough, why isn’t he stable in any league? He kept jumping from one mediocre club to another
No sign of Musa in Sunday’s match
Does it mean Nigeria cannot field reliable defenders….in the whole of Nigeria both home and abroad we can’t produce a classic 4 center and full back defenders
This really baffles me!
This man is biased!