Super Eagles players not good enough –Oliseh
Former Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, has revealed that the team’s current players are not good enough, insisting that the team’s recent struggles are largely due to a lack of top-quality players.
Oliseh was appointed as the Super Eagles coach in July 2015 before he resigned in February 2016, citing unpaid salary.
The former Juventus midfielder said on the Play Zone Podcast that the current Super Eagles players do not possess the same quality as previous Nigerian teams, whose stars regularly played for some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Oliseh said: “The reason why we are failing is so obvious that I am embarrassed when I hear people don’t talk about it. We are failing because we are not good enough.
“Which of the Nigerian players in the national team now is playing at a team that starts this season to aspire to win the Conference League?” he asked.
“I’m not even going to Champions League or E. Conference League, which is the smallest European title.”
Oliseh also admitted that he regretted not listening to the NFF not to invite the trio of Mikel Obi, Emmanuel Emenike and Vincent Enyeama when he told over the team in 2015.
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He added: “I regret not having listened to the NFF. Because when I took over the job, the first thing NFF told me was to stop inviting three of them (Mikel, Enyeama and Emenike) because they were chaotic to the NFF.
“I did the same thing for Obi Mikel. With my own money, not the NFF money, I went to the UK, sent a message to the clubs, sent a message to him (Mikel), sent message not only to him but also to Victor Moses, gave them an appointment at a bar that was accessible in the heart of London, with my assistant coach, for two of them to come and have meeting.
“Now, of the two of them, who did not come to the meeting? Obi Mikel did not come to the meeting. Victor Moses came. Obi Mikel did not even respond to the WhatsApp message,”
The former Super Eagles captain was disappointed and felt disrespected when Mikel Obi failed to honour his invitation.
Oliseh lamented: “Maybe because he’ll say, ‘I play for this big club now,’ but you see, that’s why they say sometimes Sunday (Oliseh) is direct. Where did you play that I did not play? What did you play that I did not play?
“Even though the coach was not a footballer or not as big as you, the fact that they’ve given him that title ‘national team coach’, means you have to respect the position he’s holding.”
Oliseh was in charge of 12 matches for the Super Eagles, winning five, drawing five, and losing two.
The Super Eagles players have struggled for consistency and success in recent years, missing two consecutive World Cup tournaments.
They have also failed to win the Nations Cup trophy since 2013.
Recently, The team suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the Nations Cup qualifiers.
