- Title: SOCCER-NIGERIA/OLISEH Former captain Oliseh appointed Nigeria coach
- Date: 15th July 2015
- Summary: ABUJA, NIGERIA (JULY 15, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** NIGERIA'S NEW COACH, SUNDAY OLISEH, WALKING INTO NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF OLISEH AND NIGERIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION (NFF) OFFICIALS SEATED OLISEH SITTING NEXT TO NIGERIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION PRESIDENT, AMAJU PINNICK (LEFT) JOURNALISTS AND FILM CREWS AT NEWS CONFERENCE PINNICK SIGNING CONTRACT J
- Embargoed: 30th July 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nigeria
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAELAWGRMFRIXRF5WE53TXXDP8R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Former national team captain Sunday Oliseh has been appointed coach of Nigeria, the country's football federation said on Wednesday (July 15).
Oliseh takes over from sacked Stephen Keshi and was be unveiled in Abuja after impressing Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) bosses with his plans for the team.
Nigeria won their opening match of the pool phase 2-0 at home to Chad, but Keshi was sacked soon after by the NFF for "lacking commitment" after it was alleged he applied for the vacant Ivory Coast head coach role, something he denied.
Oliseh, a former defensive midfielder who played at Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and briefly Juventus, featured for the national team between 1993 and 2002.
He won the Nations Cup as a player in 1994 and Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996.
He had fiery reputation as a player, missing the 2002 World Cup for disciplinary reasons and was later sacked by Dortmund for allegedly punching a team-mate Vahid Hashemian during a loan spell at VfL Bochum.
His coaching career to date has been limited to the lower leagues in Belgium, though he does hold a UEFA Pro Licence.
Nigeria Football Federation President Amaju Pinnick told the media: "Today is another epoch making day in the history of this geographic literature of football in Nigeria. We are very very excited and today we have just been able to present the Pep Guardiola of Africa."
After that build up, Oliseh was determined to strike a realistic note.
"I'm not coming as a messiah, I'm not coming as a man who knows it all. I'm not coming as someone who can singularly turn Nigeria into Germany. But I'm coming as a man who has come to serve his country and ready to give a 150 percent if need be," he said.
The 40-year-old's first assignment will be in the away African Nations Cup qualifier in Tanzania in September.
Keshi, took over the national side in 2011 and led them to a long-awaited third African title two years later.
The charismatic coach then quit the day after their 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso in the final, only to change his mind a day later.
The same thing happened after the World Cup last year when he quit and was then reinstated before threatening to leave again last October after a poor run of results as they failed to qualify for this year's African Cup of Nations. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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