Rabiu: “Essien was secret behind my success”

Black Stars’ unsung hero, Rabiu Mohammed has praised Michael Essien for moulding him into a different player during the team’s participation in their year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Talking to 90 MINUTES in an exclusive interview in Brazil, the 24-yr who many journalists wouldn’t waste too much ink to write about said: “To play and see Essien on the bench was something else because he had seen it in all at club and national team football. But to my surprise, he coached me during training sessions and games and pointed out some few things that I wasn’t doing right in games and at training. I did well in Brazil because I had such great guys like Essien who was always there to advise me on what to do.”

Rabiu also thanked Coach Kwesi Appiah for having the trust in him during the Black Stars campaign in Brazil. “I also owe the coach (Kwesi Appiah) a lot for having faith in me and making me show the whole world of the stuff I’m made of. It wasn’t about personal glory in Brazil and every member in the team put Ghana first. As much as we tried to go beyond the group stages, it wasn’t to be so and would urge the fans to support the team through these difficult moments.”

The FC Kuban Krasnodar ace also denied allegations of him still nursing an injury that made fans not see the best from him. The FIFA U-20 World Cup winner said: “I wasn’t injured because prior to the World Cup, I returned from injury to play a major role in our league campaign. I was fit and I don’t think the coach would had fielded me in games had I been injured.”