Siasia Recounts Experience As Super Eagles’ Head Coach

Samson Siasia narrates his experience as the head coach of the Super Eagles.
He explained he took on the role after persuasion from Shuaibu Amodu due to health issues.
He highlighted discrepancies in treatment and opportunities between Nigerian and foreign coaches.

Eko Hot Blog reports that Samson Siasia, the former Nigerian footballer and coach, has shared his experience as the head coach of the Super Eagles, stepping in after Sunday Oliseh’s sudden departure in 2016.

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During a podcast with former international Emmanuel Babayaro and journalist Matthew Edafe on Saturday, Siasia revealed the circumstances surrounding his appointment and the challenges he faced during his brief tenure as the head coach of the Super Eagles.

“Oliseh ran away. He’s been a runner since… Like Ben Johnson, what do you call him? Yes, here I was coaching the Olympic team. Oliseh said he no do again, saying he don move. Why? We don’t know,” Siasia recounted, referring to Oliseh’s sudden resignation as the Super Eagles coach.

Siasia further revealed that he was initially reluctant to take over the national team, stating, “They said, coach, you go take over. I said take over what? they said Super Eagles, I said no I don’t want to. I said I didn’t want to because that’s not my team. I cannot get control of that team in two weeks. In two weeks you are playing against Egypt.”

Samson Siasia with his his then coaching crew

After being persuaded by Shuaibu Amodu, who cited health issues, Siasia agreed to take on the role. “I said, you? What are you? You are a coach. Go and coach the team. He (Amodu) said, no. I have a heart problem. I said, you want me to get one too? He was like, no, we don’t have another person but only you.”

Siasia acknowledged the challenges of leading the team on such short notice, stating, “I thought, okay, since we don’t have another person, let me go on a rescue mission. We tried, but at the last minute, they (Egypt) scored against us.”

Reflecting on his tenure, Siasia mentioned introducing players like Alex Iwobi, saying, “It was the first time Iwobi played for us. So we wanted to secure him, instead of allowing him to go and play for England.”

When asked if he would have performed better with more time, Siasia responded, “They never give Nigerian people 4 years. You lose one match and they fire you, but that’s the truth.”