LAGOS JULY 9TH (URHOBOTODAY)- The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF has disclosed that it will unveil former Super Eagles’ skipper, Sunday Oliseh as the coach of the Super Eagles next week. This follows a meeting between President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, and Oliseh in London, United Kingdom.
Pinnick, who arrived Lagos last night from London, gave the indication that the new coach would be unveiled next week. The NFF confirmed on Wednesday that the Pinnick and Oliseh met in London with regard to the vacant position of the Super Eagles coach.
“An offer has been made, and there is understanding, but we have to work out the final details of the agreement in a few days. Of course, the Executive Board has to give approval for his appointment, based on the final terms to be agreed,” said Felix Anyansi-Agwu, chairman of the NFF Technical and Development Committee, in a statement on Wednesday.
Pinnick said: “Oliseh has vast experience and immense knowledge of the game, and will certainly add value to what we are doing.
“He has bought into our vision and objectives towards the development of Nigerian football. He will command the respect of the players and we trust he has the temperament to work harmoniously with the Technical and Development Committee, the Technical Directorate and the Technical Study Group.
“On our part at the NFF, we will give him all the support to succeed, as we have been giving to all our coaches. Subject to the approval of the NFF Executive Committee, we will conclude negotiations by weekend and he will be unveiled next week.”
Oliseh has asked for a foreign technical assistant and former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Alloy Agu, as goalkeeper trainer. While the NFF confirmed that Oliseh would come with a “foreign technical assistant, whose job description will centre on development programmes, and will work with clubs’ youth teams and certified academies towards developing the game from the grassroots,” the federation was silent on Agu, who is with the Under-23 team as goalkeeper trainer.
According to the NFF, “Oliseh is expected to come up with a five-year developmental plan to fashion a unique playing and coaching philosophy for all the national teams, and will for this purpose, interface regularly with coaches of those teams.
“We are also looking at how he will periodically organise clinics and seminars for coaches of clubs in the Nigeria Professional Football League, probably once in a month, so as to strengthen the playing philosophy across board. “
A robust youth development programme, elite player development strategy and performance programmes to drive higher standards, among other core sustainable development programmes, are also part of the proposal,” Anyansi-Agwu added.
Oliseh, 40, is presently a FIFA instructor, and runs a consultancy that trains and assesses coaches worldwide. He is also member of FIFA Technical Study Group. He was in the Nigerian squad that won the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia in 1994, and played in the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup final tournaments, with the Super Eagles reaching the Round of 16 in both. He was also in the Nigeria U-23 side that won Africa’s first Olympic football gold in Atlanta, United States, 19 years ago. Oliseh played for Reggiana, FC Cologne, Ajax Amsterdam, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, VFL Bochum and RC Genk in a magnificent professional career, during which he played under some of the best coaches in the world.
He won 63 caps for Nigeria between 1993 and 2002, picking up African Cup of Nations gold, silver and bronze medals. Oliseh holds a UEFA Pro License, and coached Belgian lower division club, Vervietois between 2008 and 2009. Meanwhile, current stand-in coach, Salisu Yusuf, will also be in the new team, but with greater devotion to the home-based team, otherwise known as Super Eagles Team B, and will be the interface between the technical crew and the home team.