Oliseh Shares Why Super Eagles Are Struggling

Former Super Eagles captain and coach, Sunday Oliseh, says Nigeria's football problems come from what he calls a lack of quality in the current players compared to past generations.

Oliseh spoke during an episode of The Play Zone Podcast that was monitored by PUNCH Online on Wednesday. He said the standard of players available for the national team is a big reason for its struggles.

"The reason why we are failing is so obvious that I am embarrassed when I hear people don’t talk about it.

“We are failing because we are not good enough," Oliseh said.

The former midfielder believes that today's players do not have the same level of quality that past Super Eagles teams had. He feels that players from earlier generations played at a higher level in European football, which made them stand out.

He mentioned former Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amuneke, Victor Ikpeba, Taribo West, Celestine Babayaro, Ben Iroha, and Tijani Babangida as examples of those who played for well-known European clubs.

Oliseh named clubs like Ajax Amsterdam, Borussia Dortmund, AS Monaco, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Chelsea to make his point. He then challenged listeners to name any current Super Eagles players who are with clubs that aim to win the UEFA Conference League, Europe’s third-tier club competition.

"Which of the Nigerian players in the national team now is playing at a team that starts this season to aspire to win the Conference League?" he asked.

"I’m not even going to Champions League or UEFA. Conference League, which is the smallest European title."

Oliseh’s comments bring up the debate about whether the Super Eagles' recent issues come mainly from the quality of players or from other things like coaching, tactics, and teamwork.

The former coach, who led Nigeria from 2015 to 2016, is still a notable figure in Nigerian football, having captained the national team during his playing days. His view keeps the focus on player quality as a key topic in discussing how Nigeria can improve its football and compete better internationally.