Sunday Oliseh: Nigeria should not be celebrating third place

Former Nigeria Captain and Ajax legend Sunday Oliseh

CC™ Sportswire

Former Super Eagles captain, Sunday Oliseh has said he was baffled that Nigerians were celebrating a third-place finish at the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. 

The Super Eagles picked up their eighth AFCON bronze medal Wednesday, after recording a 1-0 win over Tunisia in a lackluster third/fourth place playoff. A lot of Nigerians believe the Super Eagles ought to have done better than the Bronze finish. 

Speaking on Sport Radio Brila FM Saturday morning, Oliseh who was Super Eagles coach before Gernot Rohr took over said, “Benin can celebrate third place, Madagascar can celebrate third place. Nigeria cannot celebrate second place. That was why I cried after the 2000 AFCON when we lost to Cameroon in the final. I cried because I felt Nigeria deserved nothing but the trophy.” 

The 1994 AFCON winner said Nigerians must not deviate from their winner's mentality, but become even more demanding. “We cannot be asking for less when we know our capacity. We are blessed with abundant talents. We ought to be the best in Africa.” Oliseh, however, said there was still hope in the national team as he saw very exciting young talents in the team that went to Egypt. “Yes, there were some good, young talents I saw in the team. It was fascinating to note that,” he said. He frowned at the decision by the NFF President, Amaju Pinnick to send Gernot Rohr on a refresher course. He said, “if we want to continue to ridicule ourselves before the world, then the NFF should continue to do that.  

It is unfortunate that our football federation wants to take a 70-year-old white man, on contract out for a refresher course when we have very many Nigerian coaches that would need such opportunities that would benefit the country.” Oliseh said that if the NFF were serious about the improvement of coaches, he could be of assistance in that respect. “If the NFF calls on me and proposed that they want three, four or five of their coaches on attachment with, say Ajax, I can arrange for them to go and observe what their counterparts out there do, maybe for one or two weeks. That can be done.”