ANALYSIS: First bold step by Oliseh but posers linger

Oliseh (right) with special assistant Tijjani Babangida at his first Eagles training in Abuja Tuesday morning

by Samm Audu

Tuesday Aug 18, 2015. 12:45

Sunday Oliseh has taken a first bold step towards rebuilding the Nigeria Super Eagles by naming an 18-man squad of foreign pros for next month’s AFCON qualifier in Tanzania, but a number of questions over his selection persists.


The call-ups are still the spine of coach Stephen Keshi’s squad with only three uncapped players called up – Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme and the Russia-based Sylvester Igboun and Izunna Uzochukwu.

The new coach has done well to overlook Chelsea stars Mikel Obi and Victor Moses as they have not been playing regularly for their London club, but his omission of Watford striker Odion Ighalo will remain a major talking point for some time to come.

In June, Ighalo scored his first goal for the Eagles against Chad in his third appearance for the team and has continued where he left off in the English Premier League after he netted 20 goals in the lower league the previous campaign to win them promotion back to the top flight.

He scored seven goals in nine matches in pre-season and his goal for Watford on the opening day of the EPL season against Everton made nonsense of the 30 million pounds-rated John Stones.

Oliseh has also confronted his major selection dilemma  by keeping faith with striker Emmanuel Emenike, who these days does not exactly play in “one top leagues of the world”, but who he has admired after his exploits at the 2013 AFCON in South Africa, where Oliseh was a television pundit.

Obviously, Emenike has proved himself with the Super Eagles and there is nothing that suggests he cannot rediscover the form that once made him the first name on any Eagles team sheet even if he now plies his trade in the international supermarket of Dubai.

His commitment to the national cause has never been in doubt and it is now left for him to justify the confidence the new boss has in him.

But the main concern against Oliseh’s call-ups has to be in midfield where he has picked the injury-prone Joel Obi, an Obiora Nwankwo who has failed to take his chances with the Super Eagles, as well a Lukman Haruna who has not lived up to his huge potentials in the past five years.

Oliseh wants his team to play a fast-tempo passing game with bursts from the wings as we have always known Nigerian teams in the good old days and so the midfield will be the engine-room of such a new team.

The coach will most probably have to look at some of the players from the domestic league as well as spread his dragnet wider to get the midfielders to suit this style.

One thing Oliseh would have quickly learnt on the job is that he is under no obligation to make some sweeping declarations which could later come back to haunt him.

What the long-suffering Nigeria fans beg for is to have a team they could rely on match after match, playing to their full strengths and, of course, getting the results.

Oliseh has to walk the talk now.

The full squad:

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Lille OSC/FRA), Carl Ikeme (Wolverhampton Wanderers/ENG)

Defenders: Leon Balogun (FSV Mainz 05/GER), Kingsley Madu (AS Trencin/SLO), Godfrey Oboabona (Caykur Rizespor/TUR), William Troost Ekong (FK Haugesund/NOR), Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa SK/TUR)

Midfielders: Joel Obi (Torino FC/ITA), Izunna Ernest Uzochukwu (FC Amkar Perm/RUS), Obiora Nwankwo (Coimbra FC/POR), Lukman Haruna (Anzhi Machatsjkala/RUS), Rabiu Ibrahim (AS Trencin/SLO)

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow/RUS), Emem Eduok (Esperance ST/TUN), Emmanuel Emenike (Al Ain/ UAE), Anthony Ujah (Werder Bremen/GER), Sylvester Igboun (FC UFA/RUS), Moses Simon (KAA Gent/BEL)