Sven-Goran Eriksson has alleged that Nigerian officials demanded that he part with half of his salary for him to handle the Super Eagles at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The former Three Lions of England manager was among the front runners for the Super Eagles coaching job after Shuaibu Amodu had been fired by the then Sani Lulu led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board.
The Super Eagles finished third at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Angola and Amodu was not deemed capable to lead the team to the mundial.
Lars Lagerback later got the job with the Super Eagles crashing out at the group stage in South Africa.
Eriksson revealed in his book My Story Sven that he was interviewed by a panel of officials, who asked “stupid” questions, for the vacant Super Eagles post at the Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
“After the meeting (interview), an agent whom Athole (Eriksson’s agent) worked with locally explained that half of my salary would be deposited in a special bank account,” alleges Eriksson.
“It was not too hard to figure out that the special account would involve someone else taking a piece of my pie if I got the job.
“There was no way I would agree to that.
“I never received an offer of a contract, and it was just as well.”
By Adeboye Amosu
15 Comments
Hmmm Nff2010 well done o una dey manage Nigerian football well..GOD dey see una sani lulu how market be for you today
It also a fact worth remembering that after the Eagles failed to go past the group stage, Lars Lagerback was begged by the same NFF to stay on and sign contract extension with improved wages which he politely turned down telling NFF that he believed a Nigerian should be hired as the coach of Super.
MY BROTHER NO BE LIE. THE SAME THING ALSO HAPPEN TO ALL THE CONTRACT STAFF IN ANY ORGANIZATION IN NIGERIA COLLABORATED WITH H.R.
WHEN YOU SUPPOSE TO BE PAID #200,000 AS A MONTHLY SALARY, A CONTACTOR FIRM COLLABORATED H.R. WILL CHOP YOUR MONEY AND GIVE YOU ONE-QUARTER (not even HALF) AS A MONTHLY SALARY. AND ALL THIS WERE CAUSED AS A RESULT OF “NO STRUCTURE” LAID DOWN BY GOVERNMENT AS IT WAS DONE IN SOUTH AFRICA, EGYPT, GHANA.
I think it is TIME for EFCC to INVESTIGATE these guys at the GLASS HOUSE both PAST and PRESENT..
THIS IS A TRUE FACT OF NIGERIA IN ANY PARASTATAL FROM HEAD TO LOCALITY.
THE SAME THINGS HAPPEN TO OUR POLITICIANS BEEN GIVEN CONTRACTS TO FOREIGNERS JUST BECAUSE OF THEIR PERSONAL SELFISH PACKAGES.
IF NOT BECAUSE OF TREASURY SINGLE ACCOUNT(TSA) AND NIN, POLITICIANS DO HIDE & TRANSFER STOLEN MONEY INTO FOREIGNER CONTRACTORS ACCOUNT LIVING IN NIGERIA. AND BECAUSE OF THIS STEALING, THAT IS WHY WE SEE MANY FOREIGNERS IN NIGERIA WITHOUT VISA.
WE NIGERIANS, WE NEED TO WAKE UP, OUR LEADERS ARE PUTTING US UNDER ONE-CHANCE. IF WE CONTINUE LIKE THIS WITHOUT TAKING ACTION, THE FUTURE IS AT STAKE. I PRAY THAT, THE CHILDREN WILL NOT BE THE ONE THAT WILL SUFFER ITIN FUTURE.
** WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION. NOT BY PRAYER ALONE. HOW CHURCHES OR MOSQUES ARE ACTUALLY IN CHINA.***
### NIGERIA, DON’T SLEEP!
### WAKE-UP, WAKE-UP !!
##$ UNLESS THEY WILL CONNECT YOUR MONEY & YOUR FUTURE !!!
Is anyone Surprised? Game of demons toying with the passion of million innocent citizens!!!
My guy, too much talk no dey fill basket, a beg.
Nigeria will remain primitive and underachieving if the NFF and Sports Ministry do not unmask, name and shame these bad eggs in their ranks who keep extorting money from coaches and players.
COACH PASEIRO WATCH OUT.
I ve said it many times, bloody revolution is the only way out. For that country to attain is greatness will need a serious bloody revolution to wipe out these barbarians. Imagine illegal immigrant Fulani Atiku trying to rule after another worthless Fulani foreigner from Niger just ruled for 8 yrs. In a multi ethnic country. These are greed, corruption, selfish interest we talking about.
FIFA has been protecting corrupt NFF officials with a “Non-interference by government” clause.In that way FIFA has aided and abetted financial malpractice in Nigeria and stifled the development of our football. As long as NFF members are Nigerians resident within the jurisdiction of the Nigerian government the EFCC has a right to call the FIFA bluff.
“…Eriksson revealed in his book My Story Sven that he was interviewed by a panel of officials, who asked “stupid” questions, for the vacant Super Eagles post at the Hilton Hotel in Abuja….”
Let it be on record that the Presidential Task Force Committee that was set up then by the FG to get a new coach and prepare the SE for the WC after the 2010 AFCON debacle comprised of a certain Mr Mathematical of CSN, a current NFF board member who is also a journalist and the owner of a local radio station in Nigeria. These are the people who spearheaded the media campaign of sabotage that culminated in Nigeria getting disgraced out of 2022 AFCON and getting booted out of the Qatar 2022 WC.
It was all about personal interests and not national interest. And knowing that we had a likewise clueless, incompetent and self-centered sports minister how knows not what he is doing, they kept whispering sweet nothings into his ears until they and their e-worshippers connived to drive our football 40 years backwards without recourse to recent or past histories of similar stupid, dumb and insane self-inflicted disasters.
And may it be on record also that Dr. Drey was one of those who kicked against the sacking of Amodu Shuaibu back then on Kickoff Nigeria as well as the setting up of this committee of blood suckers to run the SE rather than the Head Coach/manager of the team.
Lies and injustice may be on the run for years….only one day, just one day does it take for truth and justice to catch up.
We will learn eventually.
Well said @Dr Drey.
All the sacks at the eve of every world cup SE qualifies for was never in the interest of the team, but to satisfy the the yearnings of a corrupt few filthy lucre.
They have perfected this style ever since we started qualifying for world cup. This was the same manner they announced Wesrerhif’s sack on the eve of the Tunisia ’94 AFCON until the powers that be upturned that decision.
Phillipe Troussier qualified us for France ’98 with a match to spare, yet he was fired, only to hire Bora Militinovic who knew absolutely nothing about our football.
Same story in 2002, when Shuaibu Amodu was fired for Adegboye Onigbinde after Amodu had delivered the ticket.
Come 2010 it was same story. Amodu fired again after qualifying us for the world cup.
Rohr was just two matches away from delivering the world cup ticket a second time and this ugly trend reared its ugly head again, courtesy of the willing tools like Elder Odegbami that have always been in the mix whenever disaster loomed.
In Nigeria, we forget easily hence we never learn. Each time we have sacked coaches that qualified us for the world cup, our performance has been disastrous, yet we have shamefully continued with that trend.
Corruption has finished whatever is left of Nigeria. If NFF officials take a share of coaches’ salaries, what do you expect of coaches who collect bribe from agents to feature players.
The reason for the non-development of our football isn’t far-fetched. CORRUPTION at every level is it and unfortunately there isn’t any light at the end of the tunnel yet.
Only half? Come on, Mr. Eriksson. That’s a reasonable request now. Abi no be where person dey work person go chop? At least the officials then were honest. They came out plainly and made their demands. That is very commendable of them.
Hahahahaha! Chai, odiegwu!
Nigeria we hail thee! 3 gbosa for Nigeria!!!
I can not see any thing improving soon.”Na where person dey work e dey chop”Dont the person or persons get salary?This saying is one of the numerous diseases of the Nigerian state.Years back at Lagos international airport an airline agent, a Nigerian working for Qatar airline did not tag my luggage because I did not give him money.The luggage floated back and forth Germany for one month before I could recover it.If I had my certificates in that luggage, that would have put paid to my venture.There are one thousand and one tales in this regard by many others.We can not continue like this.
Opportunity is coming our way by February 2023, to determine the type of a country we want Nigeria to be so thing before you act.Do Nigeria need a foreign coach? Look at the grade of foreign coaches we go for.If we must engage a foreign coach he has to be exceptional so that our local coaches can understudy him.
We can not even give our qualified local coaches opportunity…They employ only those who would share their salaries with.Goran has immortalized those who wanted him to share his pay cheque with them in his book and I think that is great for generations to come.