DUBAI // When Musawengosi Mguni arrived at Al Shabab, he was a virtual unknown. The lanky Zimbabwe striker arrived from Cypriot club Omonia Nicosia after missing most of last season due to injury. At a time when the likes of Jorge Valdivia, Fernando Baiano and Rafael Sobis were creating headlines for making the UAE Pro League their new home, Musa's arrival barely raised a whisper.
Once the games started, the forward, 25, failed to win over too many fans. He has managed to score just one goal in six rounds of the league and two more in the Emirates Cup. Musa, however, is not disillusioned. He is confident he can play a big part in Al Shabab's defence of their league title, if given the right support. "I didn't come here to make myself a hero or anything like that," he said. "I am not the best player here and I don't want to be. I want to win championships. Being the best player, I leave it for Kaka, Ronaldinho and [Frank] Lampard. For me, I want to score goals or create goals for my team, and if we win the game, I am happy.
"There are things that I can do, like dribbling and all those things. But I know this is not the time. I still have a long way to go. I still have a lot to prove. "I have this belief in me that I will change things for this club, given time and the support. The more support I get from the fans and administration, the more it will raise my confidence as a player. If they start to doubt me, I will go down; to get up after that will be very difficult for me, because I don't know the mentality here.
"So I need support. And then in a matter of time, I will pick up my game and things will be easy for me. That's when people will see the kind of player I am." "This league is not so easy, as people might expect. It is a very difficult league because the guys here close the space. They play more defensive. It is not like Europe where I am allowed so much space, where I play in front of 40,000 fans very game. When I played in Europe, it was easier for me. I could do everything and was a hero there.
"But it was about time for me to move, so I decided to move to place where I can find something new, learn something new. That is why I chose the UAE. It was not for the money, I'm still too young to be thinking about money. I have a career to concentrate on. "Coming to the UAE, I knew it was not going to be easy for me. "People will have doubts - 'Is he a good player? Is he not a good player?', but I listen to such things from one ear, and take it out from the other. If I was not a good player, I would not be playing for a great team like Al Shabab.
"I know there will come a time when all these chances will be turning to goals. I am somebody who is not affected by criticism. So whatever people say, they should know that Musa don't care. But Musa will fight for the club and Musa will do his best in every game. Yeah, this is me." arizvi@thenational.ae