he opted for a new captain for the team – a decision that ignited
a serious quarrel between the coach and his goalkeeper on
Tuesday in Belgium where the Nigerian team are camping.
Oliseh who spoke with The PUNCH in an exclusive interview
said he chose Ahmed Musa as the new captain because he
wanted a player that was not set to retire.
He said, “A lot is built around the captain and the way he carries
on with the job means a lot to the team. A captain (Vincent
Enyeama) who has said many times that he was retiring. From
the onset he told me that and he has continued to say that. Now
we are rebuilding a team to last over a long period of time.
“In his absence Musa stepped in and he did the job perfectly.
Vincent has done his bit and I felt we could start a transition
period but instead he tried to make it his right to remain as the
captain. But it is not his prerogative to decide who leads the
team. It does not happen anywhere.”
The coach said that everything said in the course of argument
was basically on the team and football. He said he was alarmed
when other stories were added to it.
“It was simply an attempt to whip up emotions that created
other matters; issues were introduced unfairly into the matter,”
he said.
Enyeama, who also spoke with our correspondent, maintains
that he holds no grudges after another player was named
captain of the national team, but insists that Oliseh should have
explained the reasons behind the decision.
The Eagles gaffer on Tuesday stripped Enyeama and named
CSKA Moscow forward, Musa, who led the team in the absence
of Enyeama against Tanzania and Niger, as new captain of the
Eagles.
The Lille keeper arrived in camp on Tuesday – after the burial of
his mother – a day after the Monday deadline to report to camp.
But he was stunned when Oliseh in the presence of other players
and officials, named his new captain.
Oliseh allegedly told the keeper to shut up, when the argument
got quite hot. Enyeama didn’t comply, prompting Oliseh to order
the hotel’s security personnel to kick the ex-Enyimba man out of
the venue.
It took the intervention of Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi, Ogenyi
Onazi and Nigeria Football Federation officials to restore peace
at the meeting.
In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday,
Enyeama, who took over the captain’s armband after Joseph
Yobo’s retirement, confirmed that the issue had been resolved,
adding that he was not against Oliseh naming somebody else as
captain of the squad.
He said,”Everything is okay now, there are no problems. I’m not
against anybody being captain of the team but I deserve an
explanation.
“Even in your house, when your father suddenly says, ‘go and
sleep,’ you will want to know why the sudden decision was
taken. I always want to give my best to my country but in
situations like these, I deserve an explanation. I don’t want to
say much because I will talk at the appropriate time.”
Enyeama made his Nigeria debut against England at the 2002
World Cup and he became the country’s most capped player
with 101 games, when the Eagles played Chad in a 2017 Africa
Cup of Nations qualifier in Kaduna in June
Culled from The Punch.
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