Former Super Eagles coach and player Sunday Oliseh has voiced strong opposition to the appointment of a foreign manager to lead Nigeria’s senior national football team, arguing that capable Nigerian coaches are being overlooked.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Sports on Sunday, Oliseh criticised the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for entrusting the team to Eric Chelle, a French-born former Mali international. Chelle was appointed in January to replace Augustine Eguavoen, who had been serving in an interim capacity.
“I am totally against having that role not being handed over to a Nigerian because we have qualified Nigerians who can do that job,” Oliseh stated.
Since his appointment, Chelle has managed five matches for the Super Eagles, securing three wins and two draws without a loss. Despite this unbeaten record, Oliseh questioned the necessity of a foreign tactician, pointing to his own tenure and talent-spotting record.
“When you are talking of a defensive midfield role, I was the one who brought in the young man Wilfred Ndidi. It was at the same time I brought in Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho, and I gave them their first call-up because they had the quality to do it,” he said.
Oliseh also criticised what he described as irregularities in the team’s leadership structure, particularly the appointment of captains who do not feature regularly on the pitch.
“This I want to call an anomaly, and it started when we started having on-the-bench sitting captains. You can’t have that, you can’t have your captain sitting on the bench,” he said. “In other words, you are saying it is an assistant that is leading the team. Super Eagles’ role is the most important in Nigerian football.”
Highlighting the centrality of the defensive midfield position, Oliseh praised Wilfred Ndidi’s abilities but emphasised the need for discipline and tactical clarity in the role.
“If you are going to play that role, you have to be disciplined; secondly, you have to have clear-cut instructions that are laid out. That is why a tactician is very important,” he said.
“For me, it’s one of the most important roles in football. You are the umbrella of the defenders,” he added.
