Super Eagles Are In Dangerous Point, Sunday Oliseh Cry Out

Former Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh has predicted that the national team could witness a “nosedive” if the right measures are not taken.

Sunday Oliseh coached the Super Eagles from July 2015 to February 2016. He took over the Eagles after they failed to feature in the 2015 AFCON.

Recall that the Eagles failed to qualify for the 2015 AFCON barely two years after the late Stephen Keshi led them to win the 2013 AFCON.

Before 2013, the Super Eagles managed to win Bronze in three successive editions, 2002, 2004, and 2006. They won bronze in the 2010 edition and then failed to qualify for the 2012 edition.

In earlier editions, the Super Eagles have shown promise as they finished third in the 2019 edition and then finished in the round of 16 in the 2021 edition.

In the last edition of the tournament (2023), they lost 2-1 in the final to Ivory Coast after a very unexpected run. Interestingly, the Nigeria Football Federation failed to renew the contract of Jose Peseiro due to a disagreement on wages.

This has left the national team without a permanent coach, a position Sunday Oliseh who has never stayed more than one year with one team has applied for.

In an interview with Channels Television, Oliseh who sees himself as one of the best coaches in the Super Eagles’ history, urged stakeholders in Nigerian football to fight against another round of Super Eagles’ decline.

“We are at a dangerous point as a football country. After my generation stopped, Nigeria stopped winning and became irrelevant. We started celebrating ‘golden bronze’. But (Stephen) Keshi was able to come up and make up a team that won the 2013 AFCON,” Oliseh said.

“However, immediately after that, we did not qualify for the 2015 and 2017 AFCON. Even though in 2015, the coach, in my opinion, is still one of the top coaches that we’ve ever had. So, we had a nosedive then, which is something I am afraid that may happen again, and that is something we have to fight against.”