Key Takeaways
- Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh said he regretted ignoring the NFF’s warning against inviting John Obi Mikel, Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike to the national team.
- Oliseh said Mikel failed to attend a London meeting or answer his WhatsApp message, despite the coach travelling from Belgium to meet him.
- Oliseh said Victor Moses earned his respect by attending the meeting and openly discussing problems he believed were affecting the Super Eagles.
Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has expressed his regret for not listening to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) about inviting John Obi Mikel, Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike to the national team.
Oliseh recalled that Mikel had once failed to attend a meeting he arranged in London during his time as Nigeria’s head coach, despite travelling from Belgium to meet the former Chelsea midfielder.
According to him, the incident was one of the reasons he regretted ignoring an earlier warning from the NFF.
The former Juventus midfielder made the revelations in a viral podcast video shared on 𝕏, where he recalled the challenges he faced after taking charge of the Super Eagles, Naija News reports.
According to Oliseh, the NFF had warned him that the three players were causing problems for the federation and the national team system.
He said, “I regret not having listened to the NFF. Because when I took over the job, the first thing NFF told me was to stop inviting three of them (Mikel, Enyeama and Emenike) because they were chaotic to the NFF.
“They were chaotic to the system.”
Oliseh explained that he travelled to the United Kingdom with his own money to arrange a meeting with Mikel and Victor Moses to discuss issues affecting the national team.
He said he contacted their clubs and sent messages to both players before arranging a meeting at a bar in central London, alongside his assistant coach.
However, while Moses attended the meeting, Mikel failed to show up or respond to his WhatsApp message.
Oliseh said, “Now, of the two of them, who did not come to the meeting? Obi Mikel did not come to the meeting. Victor Moses came. Obi Mikel did not even respond to the WhatsApp message.”
