Auckland to parade Nigerian in CWC

New Zealand club Auckland City FC could hand Nigerian striker Sanni Issa a starting place to face Morocccan side Moghreb Tetouan in the playoff of the Fifa Club World Cup on Wednesday.

Issa teamed up with Auckland City in Rabat this week ahead of the match and he is a replacement for injured Portuguese playmaker Joao Moreira.

But Auckland City head coach Ramon Tribulietx is deflecting the pressure off his Nigeria striker after he made the long trip through Auckland to Morocco to team up with The Navy Blues.

Tribulietx knows that Issa will have to overcome the fatigue of the long trip as well as seamlessly fit into the style of Auckland City.

Issa had previously played at clubs in Fiji and Vanuatu.

"We have quite a structured way of playing and it is going to take a while for Sanni to absorb that.

"It requires a long time to understand the way we play and you can see that process every pre-season when new players come to the club. It can take time to understand what the story is when we are in possession or out of possession.

"Sanni is going to take some time but we're helping him by showing him videos but we've got to put that into perspective.

"We need to balance that out by keeping him fresh mentally. If we give him too much information it could make it difficult for the player.

"Again, we'll give him enough so he understands what we are trying to do, but not too much," Tribulietx was quoted as saying on Stuff of his Nigerian striker.

But Issa joins Auckland City with quite an eye-catching credential having finished as the leading scorer of the Oceania Champions League two seasons ago with nine goals while with Ba FC of Fiji.

He later joined Vanuatu coutfit Amicale where he helped the club finish as finalists in the Oceania Champions League.

The Fifa Club World Cup playoff between Moghreb Tetouan and Auckland City is live on SuperSport 9 this Wednesday from 8:25pm Nigerian time (9"25pm CAT).