Former Super Eagles Captain Mikel Obi reveals an ugly relationship he had with manager Sunday Oliseh; npflupdates.com reports.
Oliseh and Mikel shared the same dressing room in 2015 when the former Borussia Dortmund’s midfielder was Super Eagles manager.
Post Oliseh’s era with the Super Eagles, it was widely speculated that he scattered the organisation of the national team with his strict rules and regulations.
Also read: The Important Reason Why Raphael Onyedika Call And Address Me As Daddy – Oliseh
The former Super Eagles player, in a recent interview with ElegbeteTV revealed he wasn’t the problem as speculated.
He revealed that Mikel Obi ignored his calls, messages and invitations, despite meeting him in London to iron out issues.
According to Oliseh, it was the Nigeria Football Federation NFF, that asked him to ignore Mikel Obi, Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike.
What Oliseh said about Mikel Obi
“I sent messages to John Obi Mikel, but he never answered my call. He never called me back. He totally ignored me and played the big ego.’
”I went to London with my assistant to speak with Mikel and Victor Moses.’ I gave them an appointment at the hotel, two teammates at the same club. Moses came to the meeting, the other one refused to come’,” Oliseh said.
Speaking further, Oliseh opined that Mikel needs some help as regards his behaviours to his superiors.
Recall Mikel Obi during a podcast sometime ago described Oliseh as being clueless and a terrible manager; who disorganised the unity of the three-time African champions.
What Mikel Obi said about Oliseh
“The first day he came into the camp; then, we reported to the camp for International duties, he came straight at me and Vincent Enyeama, the goalkeeper, who also was very powerful back then. He came straight at us and Elderson Echiejile, and he said a few things,” Mikel was quoted by Gistmania Nigeria
“He said he heard there was a lot of player power with us. Then Enyeama was like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Where are you getting all of these from? We are a nice group, and you just come in, and the first thing is to attack us?
“He was like ‘I heard about you guys.’ And then Enyeama stood up and told him he couldn’t say that because we had been here for so many years. They started arguing, and literally, they were going to have a fight. He took Enyeama out of the team, and he came at us saying he was going to take us out of the team. He said he was going to take us out of the team; he said he was going to make sure we didn’t play anymore.
“Enyeama could not take it, and despite my pleas, he left the camp angrily and never came back.”
He added, “He (Oliseh) had absolutely no clue of how a manager is,” Obi started. “He was a fantastic guy in his playing days, but as a coach, he was very terrible. He absolutely had no clue of what he was doing. The players never understood anything he was doing, and he did not know what he was doing. He was just confused because he just came in and destroyed the team togetherness.
Also read: Sunday Oliseh : I Did Not Apply For The New Super Eagles Coaching Job
“His excuse when he got fired was that the people and FA did voodoo on him not to succeed. He was easily the worst manager I played under. He was so bitter with everybody, jealous with everybody, and had no respect for speaking to anybody, whether the physio or anybody.”