New Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, said Wednesday that only players who ply their trades in the top leagues of the world will feature in his plan for the Nigerian team..
Oliseh, a former Super Eagles captain, signed a three year-deal, which see him take the country through African Nation’s Cup, and World Cup qualifications and participation in the tournaments proper if all things go well.
Oliseh said it is a big honour for him to be considered for the Super Eagles’ job saying it is the biggest job in African football and call for every stakeholder support for the Eagles to fly again.
He said he was ready to give his best to the job while he appealed to the leadership of the NFF to give him the needed support in his new assignment. He called on the NFF to provide the coaching crew with the necessary information about Eagles’ opponent which he said is the norm the world over.
He also said that any player who is playing in the lower league whether in Nigeria or overseas will find it difficult to play in the national team. “No player outside of first division in Nigeria or elsewhere will play for Super Eagles,” Oliseh said.
“Gone are the days when we had individual players who can win games on their own. But we have potential. We will work together with the technical committee because if we fail, they fail.”
Oliseh takes over from sacked Stephen Keshi and is set to be unveiled in Abuja after impressing Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) bosses with his plans for the team.
“On Tuesday evening, Oliseh and his assistants had a robust 90–minute meeting with the NFF Technical and Development Committee, headed by Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu, where he unfolded his plans for the Super Eagles,” the NFF said in a statement.
“After the meeting, a meeting of the NFF Executive Committee received the report of the Technical and Development Committee, and unanimously adopted the recommendation to hire Oliseh as the new Super Eagles’ Head Coach.”
The 40-year-old’s first assignment will be in the away African Nations Cup qualifier in Tanzania in September.
Nigeria won their opening match of the pool phase 2-0 at home to Chad, but Keshi was sacked soon after by the NFF for “lacking commitment” after it was alleged he applied for the vacant Ivory Coast head coach role, something he denied.
Oliseh, a former defensive midfielder who played at Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and briefly Juventus, featured for the national team between 1993 and 2002.
He won the Nations Cup as a player in 1994 and Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996.
He had fiery reputation as a player, missing the 2002 World Cup for disciplinary reasons and was later sacked by Dortmund for allegedly punching a team-mate Vahid Hashemian during a loan spell at VfL Bochum.
His coaching career to date has been limited to the lower leagues in Belgium, though he does hold a UEFA Pro Licence.
