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| Sunday Oliseh |
By last month the going seemed to be all well between the Nigeria Football Federation and former captain of the Super Eagles, Sunday Oliseh.
Aminu Maigari and his board were sure that it was the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder that could impact meaningful changes in the technical department of the national teams. Maigari who had spoken at different times with correspondents had confidence in Oliseh and must have carried the general belief of the NFF board.
Oliseh on his part also believed he had the opportunity to make a lot of input that could aid the soccer system that plunged from the world beaters level of the 1990s to near ground zero of football a decade after. The Nigerian based in Belgium seemed very passionate about the job but his attitude appears to have taken a complete turnaround. The outcome of the Nigerian match against Ethiopia last Sunday may not have helped the new feelings of Oliseh towards the NFF.
“I was not passionate about the job,” he corrected in a telephone chat from his home in Belgium with a correspondent on Friday. “I was passionate about making Nigerian football work again. I am proud to be Nigerian and I have a son who is very proud being Nigerian but the system has been working anti-clock wise and I thought only Nigerians can truly make it work the right way again.”
Oliseh made the headlines during the week when he complained about the contract he was offered by the NFF which he turned down outright.
“I took it professionally and moved on when it got to the issue of pay package that was ridiculous. But I had to speak up because the picture they (NFF) created about me was that I was stalling and they were waiting for me to take up the appointment. It looked like I had been given the best offer in the world but was delaying everybody. But that is not true. If they actually wanted me to work with them I am sure they would have done their jobs in a more professional way.”
The way both sides went about the job offer was amazing as Oliseh was picked quite ahead of others before a formal selection process was conducted. Indeed when the former technical director of the FA James Peters was sacked last year, it appeared all that was left was for the former Juventus player to assume office.
“Actually it was the NFF that approached me; I didn’t call anybody. They also did when there was vacancy for the Eagles coaching job and the way they went about it initially gave the impression that they were beginning to get it right.”
And if there is anything in the last one month that has surprised Oliseh the most, it is the way the NFF handled the last two matches of the Eagles.
“The big flaw in the two games (Argentina and Ethiopia) makes one to wonder what the problem is. We have to reshuffle our game and the system to enable us to move forward again. Nobody does things the way we do here. The team was physically and mentally exhausted going into that match in Addis Ababa. I am tired of seeing Nigeria struggling against Ethiopia and against Madagascar.
“How could we have engaged the Argentineans in Abuja when we were going to play Ethiopia in four days? Couldn’t the game against Argentina have waited or handled differently? We could have gone to Eritrea to play instead and then cross over to Ethiopia. That way the problem of late arrival and high altitude problem may never have arisen.
“Or we could have played Argentina with our first team who are billed for Ethiopia in the first half and changed the entire players in the second half. Both countries could have worked out how many players that could be changed. That way the match could have held and every player happy. Two months ago it was clear the Argentineans were planning for the COPA America and did not want to bring in their major players and so we should have adjusted our own system too. We need men that can make money for the system thinking commercially but must also think about the best playing arrangement for the Eagles.
“So we got our players over spent and then arrived in Ethiopia very late. Even if you were lined up against their team B you still must not get there late and create problems for the coaches and players. Such poor planning should not be happening in 2011. Perhaps it was our late arrival that spurred the Ethiopians to go extra mile and play the way they did. They must have felt underrated and paid us back in real terms,” Oliseh said.
The Ethiopians hit hard in real terms as the Eagles struggled to a 2-2 draw. The result has again reproduced football mathematicians in Nigeria. The major Group rivals in the Gabon 2012 race, Guinea are now three points ahead with just two matches left and they also enjoy goals advantage. The calculations are that Nigeria will beat Madagascar by a wide margin and also beat Guinea squarely in the last match billed for Abuja.
Nigerians were sure that the Eagles would get a win against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa but the failure has created more heartache in a football system that has unending controversies and failures.
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