Former Super Eagles head coach Sunday Oliseh has denied abandoning the Nigeria national team during his tenure, saying he resigned in 2016 because he was seriously ill and owed four months’ salary by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Oliseh was appointed head coach of the Super Eagles in 2015 but stepped down in 2016 after nearly a year in charge.
Following his resignation, reports emerged claiming that he had abandoned the team despite recording 14 wins and only two defeats.
However, speaking in a recent interview with The Play Zone, the former Nigeria captain dismissed the allegations, insisting that his decision to leave was influenced by his deteriorating health and outstanding payments owed to him and his assistants.
“I didn’t abandon the Super Eagles. I coached the Super Eagles for almost a year. The day I resigned, you guys [NFF] were owing me four months’ salary. My assistant coach, you were owing him six months’ salary,” Oliseh said.
He disclosed that he had spent thousands of euros on medical treatment at a hospital in Munich, Germany, where doctors eventually diagnosed him with mumps following extensive blood tests.
“And I was sick as hell. And I have spent thousands of euros to cure myself at the Munich hospital that costs me over 12 thousand euro. It was there they found out, with an intensive blood search, that I had contracted mumps in Nigeria,” he said.
According to Oliseh, doctors told him the infection might have been contracted through handshakes. He added that the illness affected his eyesight, nose and ear.
The former coach also expressed frustration over what he described as attempts by the media to undermine the team, despite its performances under his leadership.
“You see, those were the things I looked at. Look, I am serving my country like hell; we are doing well, we’re winning matches. The Press were doing everything to sabotage the team,” he said.
Oliseh’s latest comments offer further insight into the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Super Eagles, which has remained a subject of discussion among Nigerian football followers.
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