7 moments that defined Oliseh’s 7-month reign

Sunday Oliseh, the super eagles coach – oh, the former super eagles coach – laid down his sword at the feet of the NFF early on Friday after a seven-month spell as the chief eagle of the team.

His seven-month spell was drama-filled, as there were no dull moments – at least off the pitch.

At the estimate of seven for each month he spent in charge of the team, we present the defining moments of Oliseh’s reign.

UNVEILING THE FRANCE ’98 LEGEND

In the beginning, there was light. The beginning of Oliseh’s reign was full of fanfare; Nigerians were welcoming one of their finest footballers to lead the team towards glory after the dismissal of Stephen Keshi.

Though there were a few dissenting voices, Oliseh was generally accepted by Nigerians, many of whom could remember his stunner against Spain at the France 1998 World Cup.

CAPTAIN ENYEAMA QUITS EAGLES

Oliseh’s sun began to darken into rain, following a face-off with super-admired goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, who lost his mother just before the friction.

After his mother’s burial, Enyeama returned to camp, and was involved in a tussle with the coach over the sudden naming of Ahmed Musa as substantive captain of the team.

The rest of the story is history: Enyeama quit the team via an Instagram post. This move battered the reception of Oliseh’s eagles by Nigerians.

FAMILY AND HEALTH ISSUES

Oliseh was not just down in some matches and relationships with the NFF, in October, the 41-year-old had a flu, “became dizzy and weak after lunch” and was flown abroad “through the Port Harcourt Airport”.

The job was said to be taking toll on his health, with Oliseh emphasizing that his wife and children were unhappy with developments around his job.

MOTOR WITHOUT PETROL TANK

Who knew that a petrol motor could move without tank! Not until Oliseh took the home-based Eagles to the African Nations Championship where the won its first match emphatically before falling like a pack of cards.

“My boys have been working under a lot of duress since we got here in Rwanda. It is like a motor working without a petrol tank,” he said days before his team crashed out of the tournament.

A ‘tank-less’ motor can’t go far, after all.

‘YOU MUST BE INSANE’

“I’m addressing this constant insanity; this is madness that has befallen some of our critics. You must be insane to ask questions on the future of the Super Eagles because we lost CHAN,” Oliseh said in a YouTube video weeks back.

In that viral video, he said he had lost just two of 14 games played, and got some of his players signed internationally, insisting that his team’s fallout of CHAN was no failure.

This led to counter-reactions from many Nigerians – home and abroad. The major grouse: how could Oliseh say we’re “insane”!

DEBTS UPON DEBTS

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and its members from the glass house do not really care much about stones – they’ve seen worse days, and are proud in debt.

Replying Oliseh’s claims on payment of match bonuses and camp allowances, Chris Green, NFF board member and head of the technical committee, said: “What about Emmanuel Amuneke that played till the final and won the World Cup in Chile without being paid? Also, what about the girls that went to Namibia and won?”

With the benefit of hindsight, we can now say that while Green was talking, Oliseh didn’t give a hoot!

BABANGIDA’S SACK, THE YELLOW CARD

Less than 10 days ago, the NFF sacked Tijjani Babangida, Oliseh’s personal assistant, following the unanimous approval of technical and development committee.

In the communiqué announcing Babangida’s sack, Kabiru Baleria and Emeka Amadi were appointed as assistant coach and goalkeeper trainer respectively.

It then became obvious that Oliseh did not have the autonomy to select whom he would work with as the head coach.

The social-media savvy coach was also told on Thursday to report his dealings to Shaibu Amodu, the national technical director, who is expected to report to the NFF – breaking the direct link between Oliseh and the NFF.

At this point, Oliseh decided he had seen enough. He, therefore, gave himself a red card after the NFF’s yellow card, then he walked off the pitch.

Who will be the next successful interviewee at the glasshouse?