Mikel snubbed me in London – Oliseh

Super Eagles Chief Coach, Sunday Oliseh yesterday explained why he left out Chelsea of England midfielder, John Mikel Obi from his list of players invited for the forthcoming 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Tanzania. Oliseh who revealed this at a media parley in Abuja said he made several phone calls including text messages to Obi’s number but he never responded to any.
The former international who reluctantly spoke about the issue of Obi revealed that he has no bias against anybody adding that under him, the national team will not favour or malign any Nigerian player.
“Well this issue is an enigma and we have been trying to understand it but I am in the dark personally, and with my assistants we spent time about 11 days in and around Europe talking to players, watching games. We contacted each of the players, call them up, call the clubs and eventually met with the players.
“I went to England on a Thursday and Chelsea was just coming back, we had fixed our visit to coincide with the end of their tour before they played Arsenal. I contacted Obi Mikel, called him on phone four times, the phone kept on ringing nobody picked it up, I sent him an SMS and got no response. But I called Victor Moses the phone rang three times and he picked it up and I spoke with him, told him to concentrate on his game.
After the game he came to my hotel and we met and I told him my plans for the national team. I left to Liverpool to meet the other player and I spent about six hours to go there and back but there was no response from Mikel until I returned here.
I think it was yesterday (Wednesday) that I saw a missed call, so at the moment I don’t know what the situation is. For me everybody is the same and will be treated the same.”
He also gave words of encouragement to the home based players by stating that any of them that proves his worth will be given the opportunity to play, if they were better than their foreign based compatriots.

I hate Okocha – Oliseh

Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has finally laid to rest rumours that he does not see eye-to-eye with his former assistant in the Eagles Austin Jay-Jay Okocha when he said; ‘’yes, I hate Jay-Jay’’.
A reporter had asked him to clear the air on rumours that he does not see or stay in the same room with the former playmaker of the Super Eagles. The hall was like a graveyard when he made the pronouncement. He looked round and explained further. “I hate Okocha because anytime we play Tennis, he beats me.
We played  at the weekend at Sheraton Hotel and he defeated me’’. He made light of the rumour that started after he was appointed coach of the senior national team. Many still believe that Okocha stabbed Oliseh in the back when he accepted the captaincy of the Eagles to the 2002 World Cup.
‘’We’re the best of friends and we played Tennis at the weekend’’, he emphasised. Okocha is currently the Chairman of Delta State Football Association and Chairman of NFF’s Study Group.
Speaking on the Eagles, Oliseh said that he was going to make the Eagles to play team football combined with individual talents. ‘’If you remember our victories in 1994 and 1996, it was based on individual talents. But we do not have such individual talents again. What we need to do is to play collectively. That is what obtains in Germany and Spain. It’s a lot of hardwork. We’re here to do our best’’, he added.