Abuja on Wednesday,
July 15th, 2015 witnessed Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) unveiling
of former Nigerian International, Sunday Oliseh as the new national team coach
and technical handler Nigerian Super Eagles.
Oliseh is taking over from the former coach and teammate, Stephen Keshi who was summarily sacked early this month for breach of contract. Before Keshi, Austin Eguavoen, Samson Siaisa and Daniel Amokachi have equally had their turn managing the Nigerian Super Eagles.
Oliseh is taking over from the former coach and teammate, Stephen Keshi who was summarily sacked early this month for breach of contract. Before Keshi, Austin Eguavoen, Samson Siaisa and Daniel Amokachi have equally had their turn managing the Nigerian Super Eagles.
Like Keshi, all the
former coaches were abruptly disengaged or relieved of their jobs based on
flimsy excuses of not delivering on their contract promises. Nigerians are not
the patient types, once a coach failed to deliver, he or she should expect scathing
criticisms of Nigerian football fans. Reasoning from this background, Oliseh
should brace up and ready to face the onslaught of an impatient supporters club
and divided NFF technical committee.
Read more
No doubting, Oliseh
has two or three factors going for him and that set him apart from the rest. Aside
being a UEFA pro licensed coach, Oliseh also has an economics degree in his portfolio
and that should analytical and above all he is humble judging from his speech
during the signing ceremony. Also, apart from those personal qualities, Oliseh
will be deputized by his Liegel days Belgian friend, Jean Francois Losciulo.
 |
| Stephen Keshi |
But his critics said Losciulo
like his boss Oliseh had only coached club sides and no known national team
coaching experience. The Belgian before moving to Nigeria coached teams like
Rayon Sport FC in Rwanda, ASFA Yennenga, Burkina Faso.
Honestly, Sunday
Oliseh will gain a lot from his emotional intelligence skills lack of which
Stephen Keshi has been strongly condemned by many Nigerians. While speaking at
the signing ceremony in Abuja, Oliseh said: It is a great honour to be a coach
of this great national team. I am not coming as messiah, I am coming as a man
who wants to serve his country and give 150%. Gone are the days when we had
individual players who can win games on their own. But we have potential.
 |
| Jean Francois Losciulo |
He also used the
occasion to roll out his rules and style of management to all would be Super
Eagle’s players, Oliseh informed that no player outside of first division in
Nigeria or elsewhere will play for the Super Eagle. We will work together with
the technical committee, because if we fail they fail.
To soccer analysts
and pundits, though Oliseh have what it takes to manage the Super Eagles his
nemesis will most likely the NFF boardroom politics which has been the major obstacle
against development of the sport in Nigeria as well as hindrances for the
national team’s coaches of the past.
 |
| Amaju Pinnick (NFF President), Oliseh and NFF first Vice President |
It remains to be
seen, whether the new coach Sunday Oliseh will be shrewd enough to manoeuvre
his way through the murky politics of NFF. The first litmus test for Oliseh and
his ability to manage the affairs of the national team will be to win the
African Cup of Nations qualifier in September against the Taifa Stars
of Tanzania.
It is equally unclear
yet if Oliseh coaching crew will be able to beat the record set by Stephen
keshi. Keshi is one of the two African after Egyptian Mahmoud El-Gohary who
have won the African Cup of Nations as a player and as a coach.
No comments:
Post a Comment