Getting sacked as a coach seems inevitable in the football world as past achievements are not considered when a gaffer is being relieved of his duties. With the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) sacking all the national team coaches (except Gernot Rohr) few weeks back, ADEYINKA ADEDIPE looks at past indigenous coaches of the national team and what they are up to now.
The job of football coaches is one of the most precarious in modern sporting history. One moment a coach is hailed to high heavens for his team’s remarkable achievements, the next instant, he is getting the boot for the unimpressive performances of the same team. In essence, while relishing the accolade for his team’s performance, he should be ready for any backlash (which includes being sacked) when his team performs poorly.
In fact, there is a general feeling that there are two categories of coaches – the ones that have just been sacked and the ones waiting to the sacked. To those who share this sentiment, the coaching job should not be considered a worthy vocation (despite the high fee the coaches receive) due to high risk nature of the job.
So when the Nigeria football Federation (NFF) decided to do away with the national teams’ coaches, (save for the Super Eagles’ job) and advertise for the services of new and competent ones, many were not surprised considering the dismal performances of our teams at international competitions in recent times.
While awaiting new sets of coaches to take over the national teams after being employed by the football house, it is pertinent to look at the fate suffered by some notable coaches and try to figure out what they are up to at the moment.
CHIEF ADEGBOYE ONIGBINDE
One of the biggest achievements of Onigbinde with the Nigerian national teams, the Super Eagles was taking the team to the 2002 World Cup hosted by Korea and Japan. He got the job after late Shaibu Amodu was sacked after qualifying the team for the World Cup.
Onigbinde, known for this technical acumen, decide to prosecute the World Cup with young inexperienced players and some established stars with talisman Austin Okocha as the captain. The campaign ended in a first round ouster as the Eagles lost 1-0 to Argentina, were beaten 2-1 by Sweden and drew (0-0) the inconsequential last game England. However, some of the players remained in the Super Eagles for many years. The Modakeke-born coach , first stint with national team was between 1981 and 1984. He took Nigeria into the final match of the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Nigeria lost 1-3 to Cameroun in that match. Later in 1984,he took over as coach of Shooting Stars Sports Club in Ibadan and took the Club to the final of the Africa Club Champions Cup. They lost the finals to Zamalek of Egypt. The 81-year-old Onigbinde who know resides in Ibadan remains a highly respected Nigerian soccer tactician having previously served as CAF and FIFA Technical instructor.
CHRISTIAN CHUKWU
He captained the Green Eagles to their first Nations Cup win at home in I980 when the Nigerian team demolished the Algerians 3-0 in the final in Lagos. Chukwu popularly called chairman during his active days, also played and captained Enugu Rangers in 1970’s.
Chukwu’s foray into national team coaching started under Dutchman Clemens Westerhof in the late 1980’s. He was one of his assistants and it was under Westerhof that Chukwu honed his coaching skill. However, Chukwu started his coaching career in Lebanon in the mid-1990s, before being appointed coach of the Kenya national team in 1998. Later, from 2003 to 2005; he coached Nigeria, leading them to reach semi-finals at the 2004 African Cup of Nations.
During the 2006 World Cup qualification phase, Chukwu was blamed for inept coaching and management of the Nigerian national football team, and two matches before the qualifying campaign was over, he was suspended. In two matches – home and away – against eventual group winners Angola, Nigeria failed to win either one of those two encounters. This was blamed on Chukwu and those two crucial failures eventually led to Nigeria failing to qualify for the World Cup, after having appeared at all World Cup finals tournaments since their debut in 1994.
Chukwu coached Enugu Rangers to finish 6th in the 2008/2009 Nigeria Premier League. However, he was sacked on 5th August 2009 for failing to reach the club’s targets for the season.
He reportedly suffered back pain ailment and his health deteriorated early this year; and he needed a trip to London with huge assistance from billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola to save his life. Now hale and hearty, Chukwu currently lives in Enugu.
AUGUSTINE EGUAVOEN
Augustine Eguavoen is another former Super Eagles defender who rose through the ranks like Christian Chukwu to become the national team coach. He was a member of the Super Eagles team that won the 1994 AFCON and was also in the squad that represented Nigeria for the first time at the FIFA World Cup in 1994. He was also at the 1998 World Cup in France helping Nigeria to the second round in both outings.
The 54-year-old started his playing career with defunct African Continental Bank (ACB) Football Club of Lagos and impressive performances saw him moving to Genk of Belgium in 1986. He went on to play for KV Kortrijk, CD Ourense, Sacramento Scorpions, Torpedo Moscow and finished his career in Malta with Sliema Wanderers.
Eguavoen had his first spell as the coach of the Super Eagles in caretaker arrangement in 2005.He was also brought in by the NFF in 2010 to replace Lars Lagerbäck on an interim basis once again but he immediately ruled out the possibility of applying for the job and take the role on permanent basis.
He was then appointed as the head coach of the Nigeria Under-23 team in August 2010. On December 5, 2011, he resigned from his job following the failure to secure the Olympics ticket.
The former Super Eagles strongman started his coaching career in Malta with Sliema Wanderers, he was given the job for the 2000–01 season, and guided the club to a 2nd-place finish. He also coached Black Leopard in the South Africa League in 2008 before moving back home to become the head coach of Enyimba FC for the 2008–09 season, However he left soon after leading them to a third place finish in league and winning the Federation Cup. He was named manager of Sharks FC on October 27, 2012. He resigned after seven games with the team at the bottom of the table. He became the coach of Nigeria National League side COD United April 2013.
In November 2013, he was hired by the Edo State to coach Bendel Insurance with the intent of getting them back to the Premier League. He resigned in July 2014 to take over Gombe United while in April 2017, he joined Sunshine Stars FC but was relieved of his job in June after a home loss to league leaders Plateau United. He is currently without a job and currently stays in Benin, Edo State where he hails from.
SAMSON SIASIA
Siasia is one of the finest strikers to have star for the Super Eagles. His beautiful runs and dribble skills stood him out and was a main stay of Clemens Westerhof team that won the AFCON in 1994 in Tunisia and also qualified Nigeria for her first world Cup in the USA in 1994 where Nigeria finished in second round. He played for Nigeria 51 times scoring 16 goals in the process.
At club level, Siasia most notably played for French team FC Nantes where he became league champion in 1994/95. He also played for Australian club Perth Glory with fellow Nigerian Peter Ahoskie, as well as in Belgium, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Locally, he played for Julius Berger, Flash Flamingoes and El-Kanemi Warriors from where he made his way to Belgium to team up with Lokeren in Belgium.
Siasia began his coaching career in Nigeria when he was appointed the U-20 coach in 2015. He won the African Youth Championship (AYC) in Benin Republic and also guided the team to the World Youth Championship final in Holland losing to Argentina 2-1 to the final.
His good work earned him the job of the U-23 team in January 2007 and he took the team all the way to the final of the 2008 Olympics bowing to Argentina in the final to win the silver medal. He got a six months contract to coach Heartland FC of Owerri in July 2010.
On November 4, 2010, he was named as the national team coach to succeed Swedish Lars Lagerbäck. He was fired on 28 October 2011 for failing to take the Nigeria team to the 2012 African Nations Cup in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. He returned to the U-23 post in 2015 and led Nigeria to the Rio Olympics where the Nigerian team won bronze.
In August 2019 he was handed a lifetime ban by FIFA related to match fixing. He is currently appealing the ban as Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but is yet to come up with the fee to file to file his appeal.
SHAIBU AMODU
Though his playing career was not well documented, the late coach Shaibu Amodu was described as a Nigerian football player and coach who played as a forward. Late Amodu managed a number of club sides in Nigeria, such as BCC Lions, El-Kanemi Warriors, and Shooting Stars; he also managed Orlando Pirates in South Africa.
He first managed the Nigerian national team from April 2001 to February 2002. Amodu later stated that his dismissal was “unfair”, and also said that, a month later; he had yet to receive a formal letter confirming his dismissal. He was re-appointed manager in April 2008. In December 2009 the NFF stated that Amodu was under pressure, and in January 2010 there was speculation about his future. He was sacked in February 2010.
Amodu was appointed technical director of Nigeria’s national teams in May 2013. He was re-appointed Nigeria manager in October 2014, replacing Stephen Keshi. It was his fifth spell in charge of the Eagles. Keshi returned to the role two weeks later but was fired in July 2015 and Amodu took over the Eagles again temporarily. He was replaced by Sunday Oliseh on a permanent basis later that month.
He died on 10th June 2016 at the age of 58-three days after the death of Stephen Keshi.
STEPHEN OKECHUKWU KESHI
Late Stephen Keshi left his mark in the sand of time before his death on June 7, 2016 at the age of 54. He was one of the best defenders Nigeria has ever produced, combining his defensive work with good leadership skill on and off the pitch.
Though he had run-ins with the authorities as a player and a coach of the Super Eagles, his commitment to the game could not be faulted. He played club football in five countries, most notably Belgium, where he won the Belgian league championship with R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1991. He also opened the flood gates for Nigerian players to Belgium when he joined Lokeren from African Sport of Abidjan in 1986. He started his career back home with defunct Africa Continental Bank (ACB) FC in 1979. Before retiring in Perlis FA (now known as Perlis Northern Lion FC) in Malaysia in 1998, he has played for clubs like New Nigerian Bank, Stade d’Abidjan, Anderlecht, RC Strasbourg, Molenbeek, Central California Valley Hydra and Sacramento Scorpion.
During his playing career, Keshi earned 60 caps for the Eagles, making him the nation’s second-most capped player at the time of his retirement. He represented the country at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations, captaining the Super Eagles to victory in the latter.
As a manager, Keshi achieved success by qualifying Togo for the only FIFA World Cup appearance in its history in 2006. However, he was sacked prior to the tournament and was replaced by Otto Pfister. He later coached Nigeria from 2011 to 2015, winning the African Nations Cup (AFCON) with largely unknown players and becoming one of only two people, along with Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the AFCON as both a player and a coach. He also took Nigeria to the World Cup in 2014 after which his relationship broke down with officials of the NFF and left his post the following year.
SUNDAY OLISEH
Oliseh got the Super Eagles job two weeks after Keshi was sacked. He was the overwhelming favourite to get the job the NFF promptly hired him. Opinions were divided over his choice, but those who had followed his managerial career were sure he was the best man for the job, while others believed his temperament was not suited for a clime like Nigeria.
Immediately after his appointment, Oliseh declared that he would not consider any player who does not play in the elite division in any country such a player is plying his trade. He had an impressive statistics of; 14 Games (Only two losses) 19 Goals scored and six conceded. He qualified Nigeria to the CHAN tournament in Rwanda, qualified Nigeria to the Group phase of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. He resigned as Nigeria’s national coach at about 2:28am on 26 February 2016 exactly a month to the team’s encounter with the Pharaohs of Egypt in the AFCON qualifiers.
He was barely eight months into his stay as manager due to contract violations, lack of support, unpaid wages and benefits to his players, Asst. Coaches and himself.[9] On 27 December 2016, it was announced that Oliseh had been appointed as the new manager of Fortuna Sittard. He was fired on 14 February 2018, and claimed the reason he was fired was because he refused to participate in illegal activities at the club.
On 27 December 2016, it was announced that Oliseh had been appointed as the new manager of Fortuna Sittard. He was fired on 14 February 2018, and claimed the reason he was fired was because he refused to participate in illegal activities at the club.
During his playing days, he formed a remarkable understanding with Rashid Yekini with his trade mark long passes from the midfield, which Yekini converted with ease and pomp.
He played for the likes of Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus before ending his career in January 2006, at the age of 31, Oliseh retired from professional football after playing a half season for Belgian top club K.R.C. Genk. He will be mostly remembered for his long-range goal against Spain at the 1998 World Cup in France which the Super Eagles won 3-2.
Oliseh is now an analyst in Europe.
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