Complete Sports' radio show, Sports Planet anchorman, TUNDE KOIKI
speaks to Christian Chukwu, the first man to both captain and coach the
Super Eagles of Nigeria about the feud between current coach Sunday
Oliseh and captain Vincent Enyeama, who he both coached at some point
and how the row can be easily resolved.

Sports Planet: Chairman Christian Chukwu, thank you for joining us on
Sports Planet.

Christian Chukwu: You’re welcome, Tunde.

S.P: Chairman I’m sure that you have heard everything that went down in
the Super Eagles camp on Tuesday, what are your impressions of this
situation?

I think that they are embarrassing the country. I think, to me, Oliseh should
show more maturity than Vincent because he is the one that will
make use of the defence and achieve his goal and upgrade his coaching
career record and so on. If everything you told me is true, I think what
should have
happened when Enyeama reported to the camp complaining that Oliseh did
not come for the mother’s burial and so on, should have been simple
diplomacy. Oh, I’m sorry my goalkeeper, my captain. I was so engaged in
so, so and so. I hope everything went on well? We will still talk. You know
it is a simple thing to resolve and not to start raising their voices and so
on. The captain is important to Oliseh because he has been a long time
captain and most of the players may be on his side, and if he starts having
problems with his captain then it is likely he will start having problems with
the whole team. I think the essence of him
being a manager is to make sure he gathers his players together and ensure
that there is peace and that they love one another and that they give him
results.
What Oliseh should be after are results. Vincent is equally wrong to be
talking to his coach like that. As a captain he should control himself and
know that
this is my coach and approach him properly and peacefully, so that our
football keeps moving on well. So I don’t see any serious thing that will
make
them have conflict if what you have told me is the problem.

S.P: But we also hear that another issue causing friction between both men
is Oliseh’s desire to install Ahmed Musa as his new captain, an issue that
Enyeama reportedly found insulting because of the way and manner it was
being done.

In the first place, if he invites Enyeama and invites Musa, I don’t think it is
proper to dethrone Enyeama in the presence of the team and
make Musa the captain. If I am in his situation, what I will do is not to
invite Enyeama, then you can make Musa or whoever you want to be
captain. But once Enyeama is there, my brother, Enyeama has been the
captain and is still the captain, even Musa in his right sense will not accept
the captaincy if Enyeama is there because he knows Enyeama has been his
captain. So that is what I am saying. Oliseh should take it calmly with
them. Oliseh played at the highest level, he knows what I am saying. He
has been a captain and anything that they will do to you and you will get
angry, don’t do it to another person. I don’t think it is proper. When we
were handling the Super Eagles, it is not proper to say when Keshi is there
and you tell him, he is no longer captain, this person will be captain. It is
never done, except the captain is injured then another person is made
captain. Even when Keshi was injured in Tunisia 94’, at the end of the final
match, after we won the cup, Keshi went to the podium to collect the cup.
That is how it should be. The manager is supposed to make peace among
his players so that he can get the best out of them and not pit them
against one another or be cruel to them.

S.P: Well Chairman, you are the first man to both captain and coach the
Super Eagles, so you understand this situation better than anyone. Just
how important is the relationship between a coach and his captain?

Yeah, the relationship between a coach and his captain should be very, very
cordial. The coach uses his captain to get to his players, he is a middle
man. At times when we are playing they will pay us allowances and
everything and my colleagues will be agitating and threatening strike and
so on, then the coach will go and call me his captain and say ‘’You know
my job is at stake. Go and talk to your colleagues.” So, you can see the
relationship and when the captain goes back to tell his colleagues that we
are playing this match let us do this and leave this. The colleagues will
believe him than the coach. So the relationship between the captain and
the coach must be very, very cordial. In fact there are times when team
selection for a crucial match may be a little bit difficult. The coach will call
the captain and ask about his opinion and everything. So, if the relationship
is not cordial, I don’t think they will achieve their aim, both the players and
the coach.

S.P: Well, coach Chukwu from everything you have said, it seems that man
management or personnel management is probably the most important skill
a successful manager must possess ,probably even more than tactical or
coaching ability.

That is why he is called a manager. He is there to manage people. In
Europe, especially in England, coaches are called managers. There
is nothing you are going to teach them technically. What you are after is
that my boys are fit, they master your strategy and the tactics and they go
and deliver for you. You are not coaching them. You are not telling them
how to trap a ball or head a ball. That kind of coaching is at the grassroots
level. That is where you see the real coaches, but when it comes to
national team, it is management, it is how you manage the players and
they give you result. You know all these players are not small boys, so we
don’t look at them or treat them like kids. You give them their respect and
they give you yours. What is most important is for them to give you results.
Even if I catch my player going to club and I find out that this player went
to club, he is still better than this man, this is his problem. You make use
of his problem and make him give you result and then forget about the bad
aspect of it. I repeat, what you want are results.

S.P: Finally Chairman, how does the NFA resolve this feud because this is
capable of imploding the team and with World Cup and Nations Cup
qualifiers coming up, this is the last thing we need.

That is what I have been telling you. What the NFA needs to do is to call
two of them together on the same table and resolve it and there will be
peace. If they resolve it without calling the two of them together and they
speak to them individually, it won’t work. Call the two of them
together and say that they have to work together and I think it will be
resolved and everybody will know his responsibility. Managers need the
players more because the success, his reputation and his career depends
on the players. If the players are not performing the manager’s job is at
stake. When the manager is sacked, the players are not sacked. Another
manager comes and he makes use of the same players. So the manager
should find a way of making use of his players, those that will give him
results and leave the bad aspect of them. What he wants is result and that
is all. And that is what Nigerians are looking for. Nigerians are not ready to
listen to why we did not win. They don’t care if the manager is quarreling
with the captain. They want results.

S.P: Chairman Christian Chukwu, it’s been a pleasure speaking to you

Chukwu: You are very welcome Tunde

http://www.completesportsnigeria.com/chukwu-oliseh-and-enyeama-have-
embarrassed-nigeria/

Everybody knows that....

MosakuAW:
Everybody knows that....

dude is So undisciplined. I Hope he's aware of what he's started?

you Don't just call a meeting to announce that you have disbanded your captain without even at least making the captain aware before hand. If this was done to olisah, I'm sure the rascal would have done worst.

Imagine calling bouncers to throw our hero out like some trash!

#deathtothegreens.

You know all these players are not small boys, so we don’t look at them or treat them like kids. You give them their respect and they give you yours.
respect is a reciprocal.

yes, no player is bigger than the team i know

but every good coach should know how to manage his best player ego

Wise words from a wise man

rawpadgin:
yes, no player is bigger than the team i know

but every good coach should know how to manage his best player ego

That's Why they are Called managers. I would never be alive and watch someone insult me mother.... Never!!


Oliseh is just a talking book. Enyeama is So humble. I knew him way back in enyimba.

#deathtothegreens

ojeota:
Wise words from a wise man

it's takes a lot to be a man manager. Oliseh is just a coach and he would do better in pepsi sports academy

See Nigerians... haba.. nobody is ever good in their eyes

Oliseh will fail as a coach.

GidisFinest:

lol. are u planning on replacing enyeama?

A matured approach would have resolved issues.

Make this Christian of a guy just sharap biko!

Anyway, I think both Oliseh and Vincent messed up