Ex-Nigeria International, Sani Kaita has revealed how happy he is to have represented the country at all levels, despite the circumstances that led to his exit from the Super Eagles.
However, the former As Monaco midfielder became the first Nigerian to be sent off at FIFA senior world cup.
Kaita was shown a straight red after kicking out of Greek player Valisis Torosidis in the Eagles’ second group game, which ended in a 2-1 loss.
The 34-year-old struggled to win the Super Eagles fans over since the unfortunate incident, but Kaita insisted he’s happy to be at the world cup.
“Playing at the World cup is something that I’m still proud of, playing for Nigeria for me is ahead of playing for the biggest clubs in the world,” Kaita told www.brila.net in an exclusive interview.
“I played from the U20, U23 to the senior team, it’s really massive for me and I’m still grateful for that.”
“I don’t know what happened exactly, what I saw on television is what I can see, but whatever happens, I try to pick positivity out of it, been at the world cup is something, I’m still proud of, that’s the most important thing for me.
On whether the result of the game could have been different if he wasn’t sent, Keita said, football is a cruel sport that no one can predict the outcome, but he said regretted letting his teammates and the entire nation down at that crucial period.
“For me, everyone has his or her opinion, but my opinion is, I made a mistake and got sent off, but that doesn’t if I stay on the pitch we are going to win the game, I don’t know, because this is football.
“We are just on the pitch is to give our best, so I don’t what if we are going to win, draw or lose, but all we can do is to give 100 per cent.
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“Of course, I know that Nigerians love football, and when we go out, we have to give our 100 percent, even the fans are giving 100 percent, so you will always feel sorry for your mistakes and apologize,” he concluded.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
