Why Super Eagles are failing — Oliseh

File: Former Super Eagles captain, Sunday Oliseh.

Former Super Eagles captain and coach, Sunday Oliseh, has attributed Nigeria’s struggles in football to what he described as a lack of quality among current players compared with previous generations.

Oliseh made the remarks during an appearance on The Play Zone Podcast monitored by PUNCH Online on Wednesday, where he argued that the standard of players available to the national team was a major factor behind its difficulties.

“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 maintained that Nigeria’s current crop of players lacked the depth of quality that characterised earlier generations of the Super Eagles.

However, Oliseh argued that the players of previous generations competed at a higher level in European football, which he suggested helped distinguish them from the current squad.

He cited former Nigerian stars such as Finidi George, Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amuneke, Victor Ikpeba, Taribo West, Celestine Babayaro, Ben Iroha and Tijani Babangida as examples of players who featured for notable European clubs during their careers.

Oliseh referenced clubs including Ajax Amsterdam, Borussia Dortmund, AS Monaco, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Chelsea while making his comparison.

He challenged listeners to identify current Super Eagles players competing at clubs with realistic ambitions of winning the UEFA Conference League, Europe’s third-tier continental 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 highlight the debate over whether the Super Eagles’ recent difficulties stem primarily from the quality of available players or from other factors, including coaching, tactical organisation and team cohesion.

The former coach, who managed Nigeria between 2015 and 2016, remains one of the country’s prominent football figures, having captained the national team during his playing career.

His assessment places the quality of players at the centre of the discussion about how Nigeria can improve its performances and restore its competitiveness in international football.