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FORMER SUPER EAGLES CAPTAIN SUNDAY OLISEH SPEAKS ABOUT LIFE AFTER SOCCER

Former Super Eagles captain, Sunday Oliseh retired from professional football in 2006 but he’s not tired. He had to go the university to sharpen and reshape his academics. He later had a three year coaching course, and had to go for an administrative management course in Europe because if you don’t have the European management certificate, you are not permitted to establish a company yonder. Now, he runs his consulting company and he’s also a soccer analyst.
In this interview with ENCOMIUM Weekly, the gangling soccer strategist said he has been consulting and coaching and much more.

What do you have up your sleeves since you retired from the game of the round leather ball?
I retired from professional football in 2006, and I decided to further my education. I did an administrative management course because I wanted to set up my own company. In Europe, you are not allowed to set up a company if you don’t have the European Management Certificate.
Second, I also improved my education as a coach for three years and then I set up my consulting company. Ever since, I have been consulting and coaching youths and also adults. Now, I enjoy the benefit for the past two years and also tried to work with FIFA, which is the world’s governing football body.
How would you rate your career back then?
I would say, I was blessed because coming out from Nigeria at that time was not easy. Unlike today, where football is so easy, it was a very close circuit. To be part of the few that were spotted out and made a career with major clubs in the world, I feel very blessed.
What would you say has been the secret of your success?
It’s hard work, high powered dedication and discipline but the biggest secret of them all, is God’s favour.
Why did you retire from professional football in 2006?
It was just my time. I did it for 16 years. It was 16 years in hotels, playing football, travelling but you also have to be realistic because of the risk involved. There was a time we had to represent Nigeria in the World Cup qualifiers and the plane would either not have light or air conditioner would not function. So, it was my time to retire.
Would you say football is a challenging career and why?
It is very challenging because during my own time, there were limited spaces and now the market is very open. It is very challenging because competition was very high and for that reason, people who wanted to participate in such a limited team of 18 to 22 players would have to work very hard.
What would you count as the pain and the gain?
The pain is that, in football, you have to sacrifice a whole because if you really want to be a good player, you don’t have to limit yourself. Sometimes, you can’t spend time with friends and family. You spend a lot of time training.
In fact, you are like a student because they give you a time-table. You wake by 10am, go downstairs for breakfast at a particular time and the bus leaves at a particular time also. So, you have to work towards the time given to you. Even though you are an adult, you are still treated like a school boy by the coach. If you sustain an injury at an early stage, you life might be ruined economically because it is a job that requires a youthful body and soul.
The gain is that, when your hobby becomes your job, it becomes a whole lot better. The fact is that you get good money from it.
Since you retired in 2006, what do you think has changed about the Super Eagles?
People tend to degrade or underestimate the strength of Super Eagles at the moment but one thing is, times are different. You can’t say our time was better and this is worse. Of course, the results were better, the image was right and the fear people had of Nigeria was great.
But this generation is unfortunate because they do not have most of their players in top clubs to bring all the knowledge they acquired from their clubs into the national team and I think that hinders their progression.
Do you think Super Eagles are doing well at the moment or otherwise?
I believe they are doing very well. They won the Nations Cup last year and qualified for the World Cup and remember in 2006,, we did not qualify. So, they are doing very well.
What do you think they need to improve on?
The technical crew would have so much to say about improvement. If I have to talk about my type of improvement, it would be criticism.
What do you miss about football?
I miss everything including the whole stress and problems because when we look back at some of the problems, we laugh at them.
Being married for 20 years, how are you enjoying marriage?
Being married is like a roller coaster, especially when you have kids, that even makes it more interesting. As the kids grow, they demand their own space and your time, that is the major reason I am not going into full time coaching.
I am enjoying all the time I spend with my kids and family. Basically, I want to be involved in everything including their PTA meetings at school because I like it. And fortunately for me, they love it as well.
What would you count as the joys of fatherhood?
The joy of fatherhood is seeing your children evolve. An example was when I saw my son with his girlfriend. I said to myself ‘my time is going’. I am blessed with disciplined children although they ‘break’ my head at times with their questions but it’s good.
Your most cherished moment with your family?
Every moment I share with my family is memorable. From the moment the kids were born till date. If it was so bad, the marriage would have been over, so I am blessed.
Speaking on your consulting firm, what is it all about?
It is about football analysis and development. Recently, we have been blessed to take the company to CNN where I consulted for the World Cup in December 2013, and just last week, we had a profile that was displayed on CNN where I talked about the World Cup, myself and the kids that I coach. We consult and work on major chains to analyze tournaments so, people at home can understand what happened, why it happened, when it should happen and how it was made to happen.
That we have done for Super Sports, CNN, BTV in Belgium, newspapers, online sports and BBC online.
Do you see yourself coming back to Nigeria permanently with your family?
That decision is no longer in my hands. If the kids were still very young, it would have been a different thing but I know my son loves Nigeria but all his friends are in Belgium. It is up to him and his sister to decide because these days you can’t force the kids anymore.

– DOLAPO AMODENI

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