Former Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh believes the glory days
of the country’s national team will not return unless they “get their house in
order”.
Nigeria have been on a downward spiral in the past year and
failed to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Oliseh said, “We have got technical problems and
administrative problems – it is too much for one nation, even if you are
Nigeria.
“At the moment it is bleak. We need to face up to the job
and get organised.”
Oliseh knows what it takes to achieve success, having been
part of the Nigeria squad that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994 and the
Olympic gold medal two years later.
He also played at the World Cup in 1994 and 1998, helping
the Super Eagles to the last-16 at both tournaments and in the latter he scored
a memorable winner as Nigeria shocked Spain 3-2 in a group match.
Oliseh is unhappy about the neglect of the domestic league
Those teams were filled with players referred to as the
“golden generation” of Nigerian football; among them were Jay-Jay Okocha,
Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George.
But Oliseh cannot see where the next generation is going to
come from.
“During the 1990s a lot of the players were products of the
Nigerian league. Those who were playing in Europe had only left two or three
years before. Myself, I had moved to Europe only four years before the 1994
World Cup.
“It was not as if it was Europe that made us – the Nigerian
league produced us; it was so competitive then, it was viable and credible.
“The national team does not create players – you select your
best players from your clubs to play in the national team.
“But now our attention is more focused on the national team
and we have neglected the domestic league, that is the major problem in
Nigerian football.
“If we cannot get the league in order we will never have
another golden generation.”
The former Ajax and Juventus midfielder, who played 63 times
for his country, is also concerned about the issues off the field.
Nigeria Football Federation is in disarray because of
in-fighting over the presidency – ongoing battles that have led Fifa to ban the
team for governmental interference in football matters.
And there has been instability in management, with coach
Stephen Keshi removed from his position only to be re-appointed following
intervention by President Goodluck Jonathan before being released again after
his side were eliminated from Nations Cup qualifying.
It was only in 2013 that Keshi led Nigeria to the Nations
Cup title in South Africa and he also steered the team to the last-16 at this
summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
Nigeria’s fall since then has been rapid. And Oliseh
believes there needs to be consistency as well as clear boundaries over roles.
“To fix it we have to get our house in order,” he said. “And
it is not too far fetched, the solution to this. For example, if we have a Football
Federation president who is doing well, let’s leave him in the job.
“It is great that Nigerians are passionate about football,
that they have opinions like a coach. But in reality, everybody thinks they
know football – not because they play football but because they know football.
It doesn’t work like that.
“We need to let people who are technicians do the technical
work. If you are going to talk about tactics or physical, let that be somebody
who has that expertise.”
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