Call him Nigeria’s most qualified tactician of the moment and you won’t be mistaken. Cerebral, debonair, versatile, versed and outspoken, Sunday Oliseh is well at home with the rudiments of the game.

The Abavo born tactician hanged his boots in 2006 at the age of 31 and is now ready to join the fray having remained an arm-chair critic for years. Oliseh gave his views on a number of salient issues after he was unveiled at the National Stadium, Abuja

Words on Marble

 On Foreign vs Local Players for Nigeria

“If you are a foreign-based pro, it is not because these foreign clubs want to do you a favour, it is because you are one of the best from your country, simple. By gradually trying to wage war against these players who ply their trade week in week out at the highest level leagues in the world, we are turning our back to our best  and waging a war against ourselves, they are Nigerians too I must remind you.”

They should not be cast away just because our technical crew lacks the skills to manage them at the detriment of Nigeria.

On Confederations Cup failure and home-based Players

My belief  is not that we should not use home-based players, far from it, if Sunday Mba was not at the Nations Cup in 2013 for Nigeria I do not think we might have won it, at least like we did. He, however, was well surrounded by Victor Moses, Emmanuel Emenike, etc and made his contributions productive and easier. We saw how this poor boy struggled at the Confederations Cup just 4 months after doing us proud in South Africa!  Oboabona is one of my favourites and with some more polishing would go places internationally.

On difference between national team Coach/Manager

National team coaches are called Managers because they are not supposed to form players due to the short time they have to work with them, but they are supposed to be good at selecting  like or complementary players, mix them up to produce results.

On criticism

Stephen Keshi is a good coach. But one quality that successful and long lasting coaches have, is that they have always had a nose to differentiate constructive criticisms from destructive ones and act on them even if they do not agree in public.

Criticisms without proposing solutions is what losers and underachievers do.

On money issues in the national team

Growing up as a kid in the 80’s, I heard my uncles and parents talk about this problem. As captain of the Super Eagles for years and player for a decade, in several competitions, we never had a competition without having to confront this problem of money and now 11years after retirement, the problem is still there, wow! Will it ever end? Is it a curse or do we just accept that it is part of our DNA?

Playing for your country is a patriotic and honourable gesture just as it is to be part of the government and the military. Just as the others do get paid, national team players, irrespective of where they play or what they earn, deserve compensation for their services to their homeland.

Recently, the NFF has been screaming at the top of their lungs their lack of funds to operate. That I feel is quite unfortunate when one considers the fact that we are one of the richest nations in Africa and the world! Something must be wrong somewhere and somehow.

On Africa/Asia’s role in World football

I feel for decades the World Cup was called a World Cup without real credibility. How could countries claim to have been world champions prior to 1974 when Africa had no representatives at the World Cup, as Zaire emerged only in 1974 in Germany.

How could we continue with any real change in the structure of World football if there is no equitable distribution of its management that includes African and Asian involvement?

Our continent is the greatest continent on earth. We keep saying God help us, I think when the man looks down and sees all our resources…my country is 170 million people, China is a threat to the world now because of their numbers, Nigeria is a threat to the world because we’re a 170 million people, Africa is a threat to the world. What does that tell us? If we decide, as a race, that we want to succeed, nobody can stop us.

On family ties affecting African footballers

African footballers, I feel, have to remain Africans in spirit and help out their families as much as they can. There is a blessing in sharing but they should know how [much] they share.

As an African, your family is always an asset to you, it all depends on how you manage it. As long as a gun is not put at your head to spend your earnings you are responsible for your viability or bankruptcy.

On coaching Nigeria

It is no secret that managing Nigeria’s national senior team is a burden and nightmare very few Top coaches in the world want to bother doing, not because the talent or prospects are not there but more or less because working with [these] administrators in the Nigeria Football Federation is a nightmare.

If there is one thing I believe Nigeria’s victory [at Afcon 2013] said out loud, it is that African coaches are good. The Ethiopians, Cape Verdeans and of course Nigeria, played about the best football of the just concluded AFCON 2013 and they were coached by Africans. So, Nigeria has to renew the confidence in Nigerian coaches especially at the National team level, and most importantly at the club level.

On public corruption in Africa

Corruption is the reason why we are still suffering and the standard of living in Africa is so low. Everything in Nigeria is what the world dreams of: Great weather, green and fertile land, ridiculed with natural resources, manpower resources thanks to our population, loving and laughing people, relatively unpolluted air… the list is endless and still we are way behind in comfort.

We fail to acknowledge that government (public) wealth does not belong to those who are elected to manage them on the behalf of the people, but the people’s wealth. Each time a corrupt leader loots, he just robbed you and I.

On compensation for athletes

Nigeria’s sports heroes are often left to rot after making their country proud. President Buhari will motivate interest in national glory by ensuring better compensation of our sportstars when they represent Nigeria.

The golden generation of 1994 is yet to receive its promised houses by the Nigerian Government. Today, 21 years after the fact some have sadly passed away without receiving any thanks for putting Nigeria on the world map of respectable sports nations.

On being a footballer

The good thing about playing for Nigeria is that, the moment you play your first game you’re a superstar. But the moment you play your first bad game, even your father would call and say, ‘My son you’ve put me in trouble.’

Education from my school days was the difference in my life. It made it easy for me to analyze easier.

As a soccer player, the worst thing that can happen to you is retirement because when we retire, to the man that is 65 years-old we’re still babies. As an African you’re rich only if your family is rich with you, so you have to cater for your family.

A lot of people have asked, “why doesn’t he go to coach the Super Eagles? Man, I wanna live long. In as much as I know, I am very well qualified for it and I love my country passionately, but I felt that I could share my experience by putting my thoughts on what I found out and what I developed into some means where people can visit and that’s why I set up my website.