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| Victor Moses |
Chelsea forward Victor Moses has
revealed how former internationals Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha and Nwankwo
Kanu talked him into choosing Nigeria over England, especially after he
was overlooked by England coaches.
The former Crystal Palace sensation was
named the Player of the Tournament at the 2013 Africa Cup of
Nations in
South Africa following his spectacular display as Nigeria won the
African title for the third time.
Moses played for England from Under-16
to U-21 level and was tipped by former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan
to be one of England ’s finest. But unfortunately, U-21 boss Stuart
Pearce and former England manager Fabio Capello had little or no
interest in Moses.
“I played all through the age levels for
England and when Nigeria first asked, I wanted to concentrate on my
club football,” the 22-year-old told Mirror.co.uk.
“Stuart Pearce may have spoken to my
agent about England, but he never spoke to me directly and Fabio Capello
never spoke to me or showed any interest in me.
“Nigeria asked again and it just seemed like the right thing to do.
“Jay-Jay Okocha and Kanu encouraged me
as well before I started playing for Nigeria and it was great to speak
to two legends of the country.”
Moses has yet to recover from the
excitement of winning the AFCON, and he has set new targets of winning
more trophies with club and country.
“It was amazing to win the tournament
(AFCON). We did it for the nation. It means so much to everyone in
Nigeria and it was great for me as well,” he said.
“Growing up in Nigeria, football was
obviously a lot different. We just played on the streets, often on bare
feet, and you used anything you could for a football.
“There were no facilities or teams. So it was a lot different when I came to England.
“It took me a little while to get used to playing organised games, on proper pitches with all the gear.”
Having started at Crystal Palace, Moses
joined Wigan for £2.5m before making his summer move to Chelsea where he
has already impressed in a club full of stars.
“There were a lot of big clubs interested in me when I was at Palace, but Wigan was the right move,” said Moses.
“Wigan gave me that chance and after playing in the Premier League for a while, I felt ready to make the next step.
“I joined Chelsea to improve and to win some medals. I’m confident both of those things will happen.”
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