@kaybaba99
In the dizzying world of international football, events occur at the speed of light such that you cannot predict what would happen in the next minute, let alone the next day. Last week, I ran the first part of my article: UCL DEBACLE: IS THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE OVER-RATED? with a promise to publish the concluding part today.
However, in the course of the week, the whole world woke up to the astonishing exchange of vituperations between Super Eagles manager Sunday Oliseh and Nigeria’s most-capped player Vincent Enyeama who has also doubled as the team’s goalkeeper for almost a decade and half.
When news filtered in that Oliseh had purportedly instructed security personnel at the team’s hotel to physically eject Enyeama because the two had an altercation with the later claiming that the coach had insulted his late mum (who was laid to rest the previous weekend), I saw the deluge of abuses and hate comments posted on social media by those who felt appalled by Oliseh’s ‘insensitivity’ against a guy who had just lost his dear mum, I was reluctant to join the bandwagon to enter the fray.
Rather, I made the following post on my Facebook wall: “This Oliseh/Enyeama gbege sef, it’s a classical case of the more you hear, the less you understand. Depending on who you ask, Oliseh is either guilty as hell or Enyeama is to blame. Somewhere, in between the two of them, lay the truth. What I can say about them, without prejudice to either man, is that they share the same temperament.”
As it turned out, I wasn’t too far from the truth when Oliseh narrated his own side of the story the following day. My reluctance to pitch tent with either of the warring parties was probably borne out of the journalism credo that there are always three sides to every argument which are, namely your view, my view and the truth.
I think all those who had been quick to castigate Oliseh had reasons to retract their words when they heard his own side of the story. As usual with Popular Side, I have published both actors’ account of what transpired between them for you to read and form your own judgement accordingly. (SEE BOXES BELOW)
However, the crux of today’s piece is the hurried peace meeting which top officials of the NFF had with Enyeama and the resultant tweet from the Federation’s official Twitter handle thusly: Enyeama was in Belgium on Saturday for a meeting with the NFF President @PinnickAmaju & VPs Akinwunmi and @ShehuDikko.”
While I’m happy, like every other reasonable Nigerian, that the imbroglio will hopefully be put behind us as the onerous task of re-building of our once-glorious Super Eagles begin again, I will however want the NFF to tell us on what terms and cost was peace secured? To the best of my knowledge, Oliseh was not at the meeting where peace was brokered even though I expect that he would have been briefed before and after the meeting with Enyeama.
If the issues under contention are not resolved, whatever truce that is achieved now can only be a peace of the graveyard and, at best, temporary. Feelers from the peace meeting are still not available at the time of writing this piece but I will proceed under the assumption that Enyeama will return to the team after all.
I would like to know, for example, if Ahmed Musa is still captain or we’ll reverse to status quo ante with Enyeama retaining the arm-band?
Two, will Enyeama still talk about retirement (something that seems to irk Oliseh so much) or not after this peace is brokered?
Three, having exchanged bitter words in the heat of the moment, will it be humanly possible for both of them to forgive and forget what they said in anger?
Four, without doubt, the players’ rank had been split into pro-Oliseh and pro-Enyeama camps. How and who will reconcile the two camps so that the team will become united and aim for success?
Five, is Enyeama ready to admit that, as manager, Oliseh calls the shots and when he says you should not talk then you should zip it up?
Six, will Oliseh be ready to confer the rights and privileges due to a senior player, particularly one who’s served so meritoriously for such a long period, on Enyeama and relate with him accordingly without undermining the position of whoever is captain of the team?
Seven, is Enyeama ready to work on his anger management issues (which I witnessed first-hand in far-away Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia in 2013 but which is a story for another day) and realize that patience is a virtue?
Eight, can Oliseh improve on his man-management skills which was clearly lacking in this instance and which could have saved a lot of hassles in this case?
Finally, like we saw various commentators hastily quoting what Oliseh did or failed to do when he was still playing, we have certainly not heard the last of this so what will this episode portend for national team players and coaches going forward?
If the above nine fears I’ve itemized are not properly addressed, I foresee a replay of this unfortunate incident but unlike this time, it could have dire consequences next time out. I’m not a prophet of doom. It’s just gut feeling and I rarely get it wrong.
However, like I said above, it is all in the realm of conjecture if he will return or not. Quoting the NFF chairman, “I told him (Enyeama) that he did so well for Nigeria over the past 13-and-half years that he had been there, and by all means, is deserving of a honourable exit. Whatever the situation, whether he decides to return to the team or not, the NFF will organise a worthy testimonial match in his honour because he served the nation so well.”
In leaving you this week, let me repeat what I told somebody who asked if Oliseh was not wrong to have given the arm-band to Musa considering that there are more senior players in the team. Choosing the oldest player in the team as captain is just mere convention, a practice not backed by law, so it is strictly at the manager’s discretion as to who wears the band. This is NOT a function of how long you’ve been in the team.
Enyeama: My story!
“I think it’s not the best way to treat a player who has served the country with so much passion, enthusiasm, so much dedication and commitment. I’ve honoured almost every invitation I have received and the way I have been treated these past few days personally I won’t accept that.
“I arrived in camp and with no issues with the coach. The coach being a big part of me fought for me when I had issues with the Nigerian Football Federation, the coach defended me all the way. I never knew him and he didn’t know me either. We never shared the football pitch together, we never trained together but I had so much respect for him. He even visited me in Lille.
“I watched the team train and after that there was a meeting where he talked about how the team trained and he ended it up saying he invited four goalkeepers because he never expected me to come to the camp.
“And secondly, that I was no more the captain of the team. That he decides and calls the shot. That was before we had dinner and he said enjoy your dinner.
“To me it was a little bit shocking because during my mother’s burial I was with the NFF President and was trying to excuse myself from the games but he insisted that I have to be in camp which I respected. He pushed me to go to Belgium. I abandoned every thanksgiving service and the family meetings in the village to report to camp.
“So for me to get my first welcome message in camp like being stripped of the captaincy was not good for me. After I had my meal, I insisted I wanted to talk and he said I can’t talk that if I talk he will order the team out so I can talk alone or I have to go out but I insisted and he said ‘get out. Vincent if you don’t leave I will call the security to throw you out.
“And he went to open the door to leave. For me to lose my mother and get stripped of the captaincy and you calling the security was the height of it. In other countries like Brazil, they never treated Thiago Silva or Javier Mascherano like that.
“Nigerians can say whatever they want to say but now I want to just be with my family. Why I said that was because the coach came into the bus and said he doesn’t know me, he doesn’t care about me and that he doesn’t want to have anything to do with me and I didn’t say anything. That he can’t count on me. So, that part people don’t know. I waited because the NFF President Amaju Pinnick told me to wait.
“I shouldn’t be forced to play with such coach. I don’t have any problem with him because he’s a great guy but I want to be with my family.
“This moment that I’m mourning my mum I don’t want more issues to it. I just want to be with my family. I think I deserve to know why I was stripped of the captaincy, moreso I was invited, I didn’t come through the back door. I have been playing for this country for 13 years and deserve such respect.
“In my club and I’m sure that happens everywhere, If you’re not playing, the coach comes to your room to tell you reasons why you are left out of the squad. If I have been part of the success story of our football and to be treated like that isn’t fair.
“I’m feeling so sad because I would have quit after the World Cup last year but I love Nigeria so much. It hurts me that Nigeria is struggling right now and I want to help bring back the good days.
“If the coach and the people don’t want me you can call me and take me out. You don’t have invite me to humiliate me in the midst of the players.
“This will only make me trust God and not man. What he did will discourage young players from giving their best. I never tried to fight with him but I insisted to talk.”
Oliseh: My defence!
It’s puzzling and, to say the least, I’m very hurt at the character assassination Vincent has taken on my personality on this issue. If you want to retire, just retire and don’t hurt someone who doesn’t have anything to do with your leaving.
I will take you down how this whole thing happened. We invited 24 players to camp and when camp opened, everybody reported in time. In fact, Obi Mikel reported on Sunday night even though we put the deadline on Monday.
Most of the players came in on Monday but I knew that because Vincent had gone to bury his mum, he might not come in time and we were prepared for that. He came in on Tuesday afternoon by 5.20pm or thereabout just as we were about rounding up evening training. He drove in from Lille and we welcome him warmly. There are even pictures were I hugged him and all the other players were also happy to see him same way as I was happy with his arrival.
When we trained that Tuesday afternoon, I wasn’t happy with the involvement and input of my players so when we went in for dinner, I spoke to all the players and made it clear I wasn’t happy and that I needed an improvement, that we should play more as a team because I know we are capable of doing better. I perceived the body language of the players that they were receptive and agreed with what I was saying.
At the end of my speech I went to sit down only for Vincent to stand up that he wanted to talk and I told him this is not the time to say anything because we just had a team talk and you can always discuss personal issues later but he insisted he wanted to talk. I said no, I don’t want you to say anything, later on you can come over to me to discuss whatever you want to say but he still stood on his feet and insisted he must talk. He was very adamant that he must talk. I told him that, with all due respect, this is the super Eagles and I’m the coach. We cannot have two coaches and I will decide when you talk to the team and this is not the proper time to do that. If you refuse to listen to what I’m saying, you better walk out and let the team have dinner in peace. He was still adamant and raised his voice so I tell him it was either he leaves the room or the team will leave for him and then he can have his chance to talk as much as he wanted. He refused and then I said I will have you taken out if you continue like this because you’re even stopping the team from having dinner. Eventually, his teammates took him out. His teammates, not the security that he later alleged, took him. Okay, I skipped one part and that was that when he continued to argue, I told him he can leave the team and go home. I gave him a handshake and said he can leave. I said I’ve released you. Afterall, you came and didn’t even train with the team and you’re already disturbing the peace.
I went to my room and FIVE of his teammates – Obi Mikel, Emenike, Onazi, Musa, and Echiejile came to my room and said ‘Coach, please we have spoken to him. Please forgive him and let him stay.’ I said okay, we are trying to build a team so we don’t need to fight. He can stay. For me, that ended the issue and I looked forward to a full house in training the following day.
Next morning, we ate breakfast and as we were about to set out for training, I received a message from Nigeria about how Vincent went on social media to insinuate that I, Sunday Oliseh, insulted the memory of his late mother when I spoke to the team. This was very hurtful and a blatant lie. And I find it, with all due respect, insane because you cannot make an accusation, a false accusation where there are so many witnesses, as many as 19 other players and three or four other team officials and there was no reason to talk about you because you were just coming in and there was nothing to talk about.
That was character assassination so that people could sympathize that I insulted his mum is quite unfortunate. There was absolutely no reason to talk about Vincent at all because he wasn’t even there when we trained so there was nothing to talk about him. Let me tell you something most people don’t know. When we played in Tanzania, I called Dayo Enebi, the team secretary and asked that he liaised with CAF so that we could wear black arm-bands and observe a minute’s silence in honour of Vincent’s mum. The only reason why that was not done was because Enebi came back to say that CAF regulations says we must write to officially inform CAF days before but which we didn’t do because time was too short. Dayo Enebi is my witness and he’s still alive. Now, tell me, how will a man that was sensitive enough to try to honour Vincent Enyeama’s mum now turn around to insult the same woman?
Before I was appointed coach of the Super Eagles, Vincent had a big rift with the NFF concerning the comments he made about the pitch at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna. I was in Nigeria and I stood up in his defence because I felt he shouldn’t be castigated for representing his teammates.
When I was appointed manager of the team, the first thing I did was to pick up my car and drove to Lille to spend the whole day with Vincent and took him to lunch where I intimated him of my plans for the team and what I would require of him as captain. I spoke to him about the tactical things we wanted to do and the policy changes we want to effect, just like you do with your captain. When I spoke to him, he made one statement and was talking a lot about retirement and I told him that Vincent I’m telling you about the things we want to do together for this team and I don’t need a captain who’s thinking of retirement. Nobody even announces their retirement two years ahead in football. You wait until your last game or so before you announce that you’re quitting. Let this be out of your agenda for now, please.
Two weeks ago, Vincent called me to discuss the funeral arrangement for his mum and I told him I won’t be available for the burial but I’d spoken with the NFF President and he assured me that he would lead a delegation to represent the team. While we were having this discussion Vincent talked again about retirement and that was when I decided to pick a new captain and chose Ahmed Musa.
To now read that I didn’t want him as captain is misleading. Personally I don’t know Vincent. Therefore to carry a grudge against somebody I didn’t know is impossible. He didn’t meet me in the national team as I had already retired before he came in so there was no way I could have had issues with him.
Let me take you back to memory lane. This was not the first time Vincent will have issues with his national team coach. This was the same major problem he had with Berti Vogts that he was kicked out of the team. He was supposed to be the first-choice goalkeeper in 2008 but Vogts demoted him to third-choice because of his attitude. We’ve heard about what happened in 2009 and 2010. We’ve heard about how he had problems with Stephen Keshi and we cannot continue to have problems over just one player.
And now to start with a man who’s just trying to build a team up and trying to get the whole country against him is unfortunate. If you want to retire, please do so without making trouble with people over it. That is my story.
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