Nigeria's football governing body, NFF on the 15th July 2015, unveiled former Super Eagles defending midfielder, Sunday Ogorchukwu Oliseh as the team's new Chief Coach, giving him and his crew a 3 year deal and a 3 month Salary advance worth a reported =N= 15 million Naira. For a passionate football loving country as Nigeria, this may not be a big deal.
Some commentators though have questioned the rationale behind paying for service not yet rendered. goal.com examines that. http://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/8472/the-patrick-omo-osagie-column/2015/07/18/13684982/without-a-strategic-action-plan-by-the-nff-nothing-will
Sunday Oliseh no doubt has an impressive professional resume. As a player and one of the key defensive midfielders of the well loved Super Eagles team of '94, he stood tall in the team, though not first among equals. After his playing years, he went on to obtain a FIFA Pro license, and coached Vervietois, a team in the Belgian lower division in the 2008-2009 season.
For an African football coach, even though Oliseh is not yet a proven "National Team" handler in any way, shape or form, his FIFA Pro license and professional experience may mean a lot to the NFF.
NFF's President Amaju Pinnick stated on the federation's website :
"We trust he has a temperament to work harmoniously with the Technical and development Committee... "
This here, is where the crux of the matter lies: Temperament. Sunday Oliseh's 'temperamental resume' is not as great as his professional resume. As a player, he not only had several brush-ins with the Super Eagles Team Handlers, but was so vocal in a war of words with Chief Festus Onigbinde , the Coach, that he was omitted from Nigeria's 2002 World Cup squad.
In 2004, while on loan to VFL Bochum from Borussia Dortmund, Oliseh punched his own team mate Vahid Hashemian right on the field of play. He was sacked by the club.
Now here come the ifs and conjectures:
The NFF cited insubordination and 'lack of commitment' as reasons for sacking Stephen Keshi but what if at some point in the future an altercation arises between this new Chief Coach and the NFF , and he resorts to unleashing a left hook to settle the matter? Would the NFF yet again just simply sack him and go shopping surreptitiously for another candidate?
Or is the bond between NFF President and Oliseh stronger because they are both from the same state -- Delta? Will this therefore evoke a greater kind of commitment from the new Chief Coach?
Is Sunday Oliseh's appointment really a master stroke or just a loaded gun looking for a bust up ?
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