One time Super Eagles Invitee Alhassan Yusuf was star for Belgium champions Antwerp in their Belgium Super Cup win over Mechelen, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Both teams were tied at 1-1 after regulation time and during penalty shoot out, Antwerp kept their nerves to claim a 5-4 win despite ending the game with ten men following the sending off of Gastón Ávila in the 69th minute.
One player stood out in the game was 23 year old Nigerian midfielder Alhassan Yusuf. The Kano born enforcer ran the show for the entirety of the game and can easily pass for the award of man of the match.
Yusuf wasn’t just busy winning back possession, he also impressed with his passing range and how he covers lot of grounds, effectively turning defence into attack with ease. He was simply majestic in the center all through the game.
His performance in the game will no doubt ignite talks about another chance by way of invitation to the senior national team of Nigeria. He was invited for the friendly games against Mexico and Costa Rica respectively but injury made him not to honour the invitation.
The same injury and fitness concerns limited him to just 22 games last season. He missed three months because of a muscular injury but his performance tonight suggest he has regained full fitness.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman