Daily Independent (Lagos)
27 April 2011
Star striker Ahmed Musa will not feature for Flying Eagles in Thursday’s semi-final of the African Youth Championship after his Dutch club turned down a request from the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) for his release.
“It is sad to report that VVV Venlo turned down our requests and pleas for Ahmed to play for us against Mali on Thursday,” disclosed NFA official, Nasir Jibrin.
“We were very hopeful that they will let him come down and we even purchased his ticket, only for the club to turn around and reject our proposal to have the player for only the semi-final against Mali.”
The player was slated to fly out Tuesday night and arrive Johannesburg the following day for the semi-final on Thursday. He would then depart South Africa hours after the match.
Jibrin said the player is very bitter he will not return to South Africa to help the team win a sixth AYC title.
The board of VVV met Tuesday evening to discuss whether or not to release Musa for the AYC.
A top official hinted that at a point in time the Dutch club requested that two of their officials accompany the 18-year-old striker to and from South Africa.
The former Kano Pillars star was the man of the match when Nigeria defeated Ghana 2-1 in their opening group match of the AYC.
VVV Venlo is battling against dropping from the Dutch top flight and this weekend host Feyenoord in a must-win match, before it plays its last match of the season away from home.
It is only seperated from bottom team by three points with the team eventually at the foot of the table being demoted to the lower league, while the scond from bottm feature in a relegation/promotion playoff.
Meanwhile, Flying Eagles coach, John Obuh, has dismissed fear that the Malian team have a physical edge over his squad ahead of semifinal.
Obuh acknowledged that though his team’s opponents are taller, he is confident his players will reach the final.
“Football is not about size. The most important thing is your brain. After all, the best player in the world (Lionel Messi) is not the biggest player around.
“By the time we clash with them, we will know who will come out tops – the size or the brain,” said Obuh.
SuperSport.com learned that Obuh’s training sessions ahead of the semifinal have been focused on short-squared passing and shooting from long range.
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Nigeria: Dutch Club Stops Musa From AYC – Obuh Unperturbed by Malian Physique