Oliseh blames Nigerian league for Eagles’ failure

Former Nigeria international Sunday Oliseh believes the domestic league is not producing players that can immediately beat the world’s best.

Oliseh was reacting to criticism around his comments on the night of Nigeria’s defeat to Spain when he highlighted inexperience as a critical factor in the inability of the Super Eagles to defeat Spain and Uruguay despite playing so well against both.

“Our league is not solid enough to produce players to beat the world right now. Even the South African league with it’s high level organisation is still not doing enough to produce world beaters.” Oliseh told supersport.com.

He said the kind of technical quality and tactical orientation that the domestic league players are exposed to are way behind what obtained in the 1990s.


“What was the state of our league in 1990, 1991 or 1992? Our league was solid, games were jam-packed with fans and it was easy for a player to leave the Nigerian league and within three weeks play in the first team for top European clubs. That is not happening today,” he said.

“I was unhappy with the kind of wholesale changes we made with the team. This tournament offered us an opportunity to strengthen the team we had at the Africa Cup of Nations.

“The preparations and turbulence with money issues, arriving late, jet-leg (all contributed to their failure). We blew hot and cold. We had opportunity of beating Tahiti 10-0 or 11-1.

“We dominated Uruguay but not in critical spaces. Uruguay were comfortable to sit back and absorb the pressure, choosing to counter attack.

“There are positives to take out of their performance; one player who stood out was Mikel Obi. He did better than even his AFCON display. Maybe it’s time to find another reliable defensive midfielder to allow him (Mikel) the freedom to become our Xavi type of player who dominates play. He can’t be a number 10 but can be the anchor.

“If we had (Emmanuel) Emenike in this tournament, we would have advanced to the next round.

“When people complain about foreign-based players and commitment, we should also look at the reasons why (someone like) Emenike was unhappy after complaining about being neglected following injuries he sustained while playing for Nigeria at the Nations Cup. Next year, if you invite this player and he does not respond, you might term him unpatriotic.”

Source: PUNCH