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Musa has been a key figure in the Super Eagles squad for over a decade, but his presence in recent months has raised a lot of questions.
When Musa came on to make his debut for Nigeria on August 5, 2010, in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Madagascar, not many expected him to go on to win over a century of caps.
While the expectations were surprising given Musa was only 17 when he made his debut, the expectation was valid as no Nigerian played had made a century of caps then, with Kanu being the joint-highest (86 caps).
Ahmed Musa's Super Eagles' legendary status
However, Musa has not only eclipsed Kanu’s record, but he has also gone on to make history with the Super Eagles.
Although Joseph Yobo and Vincent Enyeama are the first two Nigerian players to reach the century mark, Musa has surpassed them already to become Nigeria’s all-time appearance holder with 108 caps.
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Musa has indeed been a great servant for Nigeria, and will probably go down as a bigger legend than the other two centurions.
He made himself available for the team and was part of the side that won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
His exploits at the World Cup will remain forever in history, scoring a brace against Argentina and Iceland in consecutive tournaments.
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17:05 - 02.06.2023
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To date, he remains Nigeria’s top scorer in World Cup history, showing how he comes up in crucial moments to bail the team out.
Ahmed Musa's controversial place in Nigeria's squad
However, while Musa has been a great servant for Nigeria and will go down as one of the greatest players to play for the Super Eagles, his presence in recent squads has always caused controversy.
In fact, his invitation to the team in recent months has always raised more questions rather than answers.
The answer to the question or the reason for the controversy is not far-fetched. It is simple because Musa’s recent call-ups have not been on merit but reputation.
It will not be an exaggeration to say Musa stopped being a key player for Nigeria in 2019, yet he is always the first name on the sheet when invitations are sent out.
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While his defenders always point out his invaluable experience and leadership skills, the truth is he no longer offers anything to the team.
The former Leicester City man has now become a peripheral figure in the Super Eagles squad, but his place is secured.
Understandably, leadership and experience are vital, but in Musa’s case, he does not really offer any of these values because he hardly plays.
Aside from when he is injured, Musa has been a constant name in every Super Eagles squad list over the past 12 months.
Still, in the last seven games he has been involved with the Super Eagles squad, Musa has only played just 47 minutes, which raises questions about his inclusion in every squad.
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16:00 - 10.06.2023
Ahmed Musa: 'Like me or hate me' Super Eagles captain responds to call-up
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It got worse this month as Musa was again in Nigeria’s squad that took on Sierra Leone in an AFCON qualifier despite playing just 427 league minutes of football in the whole of 2022/2023 season.
In fairness, the controversy over his constant inclusion would not have been this much if Musa was playing regularly for his club. After all, some players have always underperformed when they get to play for Nigeria but get an invitation because they play regularly for their clubs.
However, that’s not Musa’s situation, as he has only played 2,162 minutes of league football in the last two seasons combined.
But despite his lack of regular game time, Musa keeps getting these call-ups to sit on the Super Eagles bench.
It would have been more understandable if there is a lack of quality in Nigeria’s attack but that is not the case.
In fact, Nigeria’s attack is the most-loaded department in the squad, yet Musa gets called up over players who deserve it.
Terem Moffi was Nigeria’s second-highest goalscorer in Europe’s top five leagues last season with 18 goals in Ligue 1. Still, he was not included in Nigeria’s squad that included Musa this month.
These are some of the controversial decisions that trail Musa’s place in the squad. National call-ups should always be on merit, not reputation, but that does not apply to Musa.
It is a baffling decision that only the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) can explain, but I guess we all know the reason.
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