Former Nigerian international Sunday Oliseh has debunked reports circulating in the media that he didn’t support the Super Eagles in their win over Tanzania in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Oliseh, who was a pundit during Nigeria’s 2-1 victory over Tanzania on Tuesday, had incurred the wrath of some Super Eagles fans who accused him of unfair criticism of the team during the AFCON Group C opener.
In a reaction to the dissenting views on his analysis on Wednesday night, the former Super Eagles captain, on his verified X handle, @SundayOOliseh, stated that his constructive criticism should not be mistaken for dislike of the team.
“I am deeply saddened by the recent suggestions on social media that my analysis of the Super Eagles’ performance against Tanzania stems from a lack of support for the team.
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“For nearly 40 years, I have dedicated my life and career to the progress of Nigerian football. While my professional duty requires impartiality and objective critique, my heart remains firmly with the players and Coach Eric Chelle.
“Constructive honesty is not a sign of dislike; it is a tool for improvement born out of a desire to see our nation succeed.
“Just recently, I was accused of being “too supportive” of the coaching staff. To now be accused of the opposite suggests a misunderstanding of my role as an analyst. My loyalty to the Green and White is unwavering and requires no defense.
“Let us move past these distractions and unite in our support for the players.God bless Nigeria.”
3 Comments
Some Nigerians are just cavemen . The man was running a commentary and his role requires him to be impartial. He was just being professional.
Well said. Golden Child.
A football commentator is required to give unbiased commentary.
We need to cut Oliseh some slack. He obviously made mistakes with his man management, especially in his dealings with Enyeama and Mikel. But we must not forget that he was badly mistreated by NFF ONIGBESE.
Can you imagine working for as long as he did without payment? No, that’s not fair.
NFF ONIGBESE are the ones that need to bear the brunt of our anger, not Oliseh, our coaches or players.
I apologise for what I am about to say but this is lazy journalism (sorry).
The article is missing the aspects of Oliseh’s commentary that drew condemnation from fans was missing. Which cross-section of fans criticised Oliseh’s commentary and what is the orientation of those fans?
I watched the match and listened to Oliseh’s commentary and he seemed to have had a nice time with his fellow commentator.
I didn’t hear Oliseh put a foot wrong. He sounded objective and jubilant whenever Nigeria played well.
Oliseh said something which I agree: “when a Super Eagles winger/striker is with the ball, their colleagues should be close by to provide options”.
Spot on Mr Oliseh.
Against Tunisia in the 2022 Afcon, the North African were able to divide and conquer the Super Eagles by isolating Chukwueze and Simon and cutting them off from the rest of their teammates.
Congo DR pulled off the same trick in the world cup qualifier playoffs by cutting off our entire midfield apparatus with aggressive tight marking that limited our options and started the sequence of mishaps with Iwobi which ultimately led to the goal we conceded.
I still feel this is an Achilles Heel of Chelle’s Super Eagles. Even against Tanzania, some of our players were successfully isolated at times with great discipline by Tanzania, leading to Oliseh’s observation.