NFF warned me against inviting Mikel, Enyeama, Emenike — Oliseh

By Ayobami Okerinde Former Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, has revealed that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) warned him against inviting John Obi Mikel, Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike to the national team when he took charge, describing the trio as players who were causing problems for the federation. Oliseh, speaking on The Play Zone Podcast, however, said he regretted not heeding the warning, recalling his efforts to engage the players individually and resolve issues surrounding their involvement with the national team. “I regret not having listened to the NFF. Because when I took over the job, the first thing NFF told me was to stop inviting three of them (Mikel, Enyeama and Emenike) because they were chaotic to the NFF,” he said.

Oliseh recalled travelling from Belgium to France to meet Enyeama, who was playing for Lille at the time, saying he held discussions with the former Super Eagles captain and clarified matters with him. He said he also travelled to London at his own expense to meet Mikel and Victor Moses, who were both playing in England at the time, but was disappointed when Mikel failed to attend the scheduled meeting. “I did the same thing for Obi Mikel. With my own money, not the NFF money, I went to the UK, sent a message to the clubs, sent a message to him (Mikel), sent message not only to him but also to Victor Moses, gave them an appointment at a bar that was accessible in the heart of London, with my assistant coach, for two of them to come and have meeting. “Now, of the two of them, who did not come to the meeting? Obi Mikel did not come to the meeting. Victor Moses came. Obi Mikel did not even respond to the WhatsApp message,” he said. The former midfielder suggested that Mikel might have considered himself bigger than the national…