Former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi has revealed why he fell out with Sunday Oliseh, who was appointed to coach the Nigeria national football team in 2015 by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) on his podcast, “The Obi One Podcast”.
During his time as the Eagles coach, Oliseh led the three-time African champions in 14 games and recorded only 2 losses with 19 goals scored and 6 conceded. But with the incredible stats, there was a sour relationship with Sunday Oliseh with some of the players and most especially the skipper and the vice captain.
According to mikel on his podcast he said; “when Sunday Oliseh was appointed, on the first day at the camp where the selected players arrived for training ahead for international duty, there was a general meeting since there was a new coach in the camp”, Sunday Oliseh then spoke about the issue of player power which accordinng to Mikel Obi was a rumor.” Mikel in his podcast mentioned “the issue of player power which was being addressed by Sunday Oliseh was a direct attack towards Mikel Obi himself and The first team goal keeper (Vincent Enyeama)🧤”.
In the podcast (The Obi One Podcast), Mikel further mentioned that “the 2013 Afcon winner and first team goal keeper Vincent Enyeama proceeded to question Sunday Oliseh as regards the rumour and mode of approach in the first team meeting, which didn’t go well as both Sunday Oliseh and Vincent Enyeama had an exchange of words which got heated and which forced a decision from Vincent Enyeama to leave the training camp. Mikel claimed to have tried to talk to Vincent Enyeama to stay behind and help the team but Vincent Enyeama insisted to leave”.
John obi then mikel said in the podcast that “he chose to stay back admist the sour relationship with the first team coach but he was benched and not given minutes to play even as a substitute”. Mikel in his podcast also said to be “shocked by not getting minutes even when the team needed him, and he was confused as to the hostile treatment by Sunday Oliseh as Oliseh didn’t clog the sour relationship between him and Mikel”. Mikel then made up his mind on “not coming back to the first team if he was going to be benched over a rumor from the first team coach”, and mikel expressed his displeasure that “no club manager or former national team coaches has treated him poorly like that”.
He then payed tribute to Sunday Oliseh for being “a fantsatic player” but he was shocked to how he handled the first team. Mikel Obi also stated that “asides from the issue Sunday Oliseh had with him and Vincent Enyeama, he also had issues with the team entirely as the whole team wasn’t unified like it used to be and the atmosphere was always adversarial, mikel also said “the players were also confused as to what to do anytime an instruction was set out by Sunday Oliseh”.
Sunday Oliseh resigned as Nigeria’s national first team coach on 26 February 2016 exactly a month to the team’s encounter with the Pharaohs of Egypt in the AFCON qualifiers. Mikel then stated at the last part of the podcast that “Sunday Oliseh blamed the players for his resignation as the first team coach as non of the players and staff as well supported him, and also he also said Sunday Oliseh also accused people of using black magic to make him resign as the first team coach for the super eagles”.
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