News
Mikel Obi Labels Ex-Super Eagles Coach, Sunday Oliseh As Worst Manager
John Mikel Obi, a Chelsea icon, referred to Sunday Oliseh, the previous head coach of the Super Eagles, as the most difficult coach he had ever worked with.
Remember that in 2015, Oliseh succeeded the late Stephen Keshi as head coach of the Super Eagles for a brief period of time?
Oliseh had a difficult time while working for his employer, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), and complained of unfavourable treatment.
His disagreement with Vincent Enyeama, which ultimately led to the goalkeeper’s decision to quit international football, was a major talking point during his seven months as the Super Eagles coach.
Oliseh’s first day in the Eagles’ camp caused havoc, according to Mikel Obi’s post on the @Obi One podcast.
He said, “I remember the first day he came into the camp. Then we reported to the camp for international duties, and then he came straight at me and Vincent Enyeama, the goalkeeper, who was also very powerful back then.
“He came straight at us and Elderson Echiejile and he said a few things. He said he heard there was a lot of player power with us.
“Then Enyeama was like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Where are you getting all of these from? We are a nice group, and you just come in, and the first thing is to attack us?
“He was like, ‘I heard about you guys.’ And then Enyeama stood up and told him he couldn’t say that because we had been here for so many years. They started arguing, and literally, they were going to have a fight.”
“He took Enyeama out of the team, and he came at us, saying he was going to take us out of the team. He said he was going to take us out of the team; he said he was going to make sure we didn’t play anymore. Enyeama could not take it, and despite my pleas, he left the camp angrily and never came back.”
Regarding his ability as a manager, Mikel Obi also stated that he had no idea what he was doing as the Super Eagles coach.
Obi said, “He (Oliseh) had absolutely no clue of how a manager is. He was a fantastic guy in his playing days, but as a coach, he was very terrible. He had no clue what he was doing.
“The players never understood anything he was doing, and he did not know what he was doing. He was just confused because he just came in and destroyed the team’s togetherness.”
“His excuse when he got fired was that the people and FA did voodoo on him not to succeed. He was easily the worst manager I played under.”
“He was so bitter with everybody, jealous with everybody, and had no respect for speaking to anybody, whether the physio or anybody,” he said.