Kano Pillars FC returnee, Ahmed Musa has cast his mind back over the glorious days of his career and declared that his best memories had been with CSKA Moscow of Russia, sports247.ng reports.
While also expressing nostalgia over the deep level of excitement he had on his first day in the senior national team, Super Eagles’ camp, Musa admitted that his career has been loaded with days of excitement.
The flet-footed attacker, who had also previously played for JUTH FC of Jos, Leicester City of England, Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia as well as Karagumruk and Sivaspor of Turkey, stressed that his most memorable days were at Russia’s army-owned club.
Musa conceded, “I’m going to pick CSKA Moscow, because that is where I had some of the best days in my career; and I stayed longer over there … more than five years. I also won a lot of trophies there before I transferred to Leicester. So, for me, I will say the best moments of my club career were at CSKA Moscow.”
The veteran player, who shot to limelight with Kano Pillars in 2010 and featured at the 2011 FIFA U20 World Cup in Colombia, before which he debutted for the Super Eagles and later captained the team, is still Nigeria’s most capped player ever.
He is also Nigeria’s top scorer at the senior Mundial, with two goals apiece that he achieved at Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018, but Musa again picked one of his sizzlers with CSKA as the best in the pack of his many net breakers for club and country.
“I have a lot of goals that I cherish and remember, but the best for me was at CSKA Moscow. I also have a very memorable one at Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia, but I think I scored my best goal in Russia.
“I pick the one against Krasnodar. It was zero-zero till late in the game but, in the dying minute, I scored that goal. It was after that game that I was to leave CSKA. So, the celebration was very massive.
“It was most memorable because of the moment it came and that I made it from outside the box 18 with an unexpected shot,” Musa recollected.
He then went on to speak about his days in the Super Eagles and admitted that he felt quite nervous before his first cap; which happened to be at the age of 17 against Madagascar in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier played in Calabar on September 5, 2010.
“Getting into the Super Eagles was also a dream come true for me, because I never believed that one day I would get there. My first call-up was in Calabar against Madagascar, but I felt nervous when I started training with Joseph Yobo, Obafemi Martins, Danny Shittu, Taye Taiwo and others, as I was still a young player.
“It meant that being in the midst of all those players was not easy; but I eventually played my first senior national team game in Calabar.
“I was a little bit shy and wanted to take pictures with many of them. I was just coming up, but there I was training with people that I had been watching on TV. So, you should know how the impression would be. That experience was massive for me,” Musa recalled with a glitter of delight in his eyes.
