‘Worst Super Eagles Coach Ever’ – Sunday Oliseh drops Bombshell

Former Super Eagles captain and manager Sunday Oliseh has ignited a firestorm in Nigerian football by publicly declaring Chief Festus Onigbinde the “worst coach to ever coach the Super Eagles.”

Oliseh’s scathing critique, delivered on a recent podcast, focused primarily on the controversial squad selection and the subsequent fallout from the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, an event he claims marked the “destruction” of the national team.

Oliseh’s comments stem from his personal exclusion from the 2002 World Cup squad, despite his pivotal role as captain in securing qualification. He and fellow players, including Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Finidi George, were controversially dropped by Onigbinde, who took over the team just months before the tournament.

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Speaking on the podcast, Oliseh stated that his omission was a consequence of standing up to the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) over the team’s unpaid allowances and a dispute over the $1 million FIFA qualification grant.

“In my whole lifetime, I never felt more betrayed than that moment,” Oliseh confessed.

He added, “That was where the destruction of the Super Eagles started… They even went with players who didn’t play in the qualifiers.”

Sunday Oliseh; “Festus Onigbinde is the worst coach to ever coach the Super Eagles.”

— Adepoju Tobi Samuel 🇳🇬 (@OgaNlaMedia) October 23, 2025

Fellow veteran striker, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, echoed the sentiment, recalling an absurd moment where Onigbinde allegedly asked him what position he played during a training session, a striker who had just scored the goals that qualified the team.

The legendary midfielder further linked the events of 2002 to the Super Eagles’ current struggles in international football, suggesting a lasting scar on the team’s spirit and administration.

Onigbinde’s Legacy under Scrutiny

Chief Festus Onigbinde, an accomplished coach who led the national team to the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations final, had a notably brief and turbulent second spell in 2002. His decision to overhaul the team and exclude key veterans resulted in Nigeria exiting the World Cup without a win.

While the World Cup failure is on the record books, supporters of Onigbinde often point out that he was given only seven weeks to assemble a team after the previous coaching crew was sacked.

They contend that his mandate was to create a new, disciplined, and youthful team in the face of widespread administrative corruption and player indiscipline at the time.

As of press time, Chief Onigbinde has not issued a direct response to Oliseh’s most recent comments.

However, both men have previously traded verbal barbs, with Onigbinde, in the past, questioning Oliseh’s man-management skills and suitability for the Super Eagles job during Oliseh’s own managerial tenure in 2016.