Oliseh searches for home-based players

Super Eagles Head Coach, Sunday Oliseh, has started work just under a week after he was officially unveiled by the Nigeria Football Federation in Abuja. Investigations by New Telegraph revealed that the coach had mandated one of his assistants, Salisu Yusuf, to search for the best players in the Nigeria Professional Football League ahead of their invitation to the national team.

“Coach Salisu called me at the weekend that the new coach of Super Eagles, Oliseh, had instructed him to look for some of the best players in the league,” Sunshine Stars coach, Kennedy Boboye, said. “He categorically mentioned three players in my team and asked for their details which I gladly provided him because it is a thing of joy for your players to be invited to the national team.” Another coach in the South East who preferred anonymity told our correspondent that two players in his team had been picked to join the Super Eagles.

A Source in the Nigeria Football Federation revealed that Salisu Yusuf would be present at the maiden edition of the international invitational football tournament tagged ‘Africa for Peace’’ between clubs from Nigeria and South Africa. The event takes place in Oba, Anambra State, from July 21 to 26.

“He (Oliseh) has to hit the ground running because there is no time to waste. The homebased players will form the bedrock of the team to be assembled by the new coach and he has mandated his assistant to scour the league for the best players to be drafted into the team.

“His assistant Yusuf will be around for the ‘Africa for Peace’ competition to look at some of the players that will be part of the competition. Immediately after his unveiling, there is plan for him to watch some of the league matches to help in the process of rebuilding the national team,” the source said.

Only at the weekend, the Chairman of the League Management Board, Shehu Dikko, noted that the presence of Yusuf in Port Harcourt for the Nigeria, Congo match was deliberate. “Yusuf came for the match to look at the home-based players. I am really proud of them. They have exhibited high standard and we expect to see more of them in the Eagles,” Dikko said after Nigeria’s 2-1 victory over Congo on Sunday.