Sunday Oliseh Names Festus Onigbinde Worst Coach in Super Eagles History

Former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sunday Oliseh has declared Festus Onigbinde the worst coach ever in charge of Nigeria’s Super Eagles.

Oliseh, who played more than 60 times for Nigeria and featured for top European clubs including Borussia Dortmund and Juventus, voiced the criticism during a recent Home Turf podcast.

He claimed that Onigbinde, who briefly coached Nigeria at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, dropped several players who had contributed to qualifying matches among them Agali, Yakubu, Babangida and said that those players have not been properly compensated since.

The coach’s record with the Super Eagles includes two distinct spells: from 1982 to 1984 and again in 2002. During his first tenure, his team recorded two wins, two draws, and one loss, while in his second stint, he achieved three wins, three losses, and two draws.

Oliseh also spoke of his own exclusion from the 2002 World Cup squad. He believes administrative issues at the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) played a part in his omission, and that Onigbinde’s handling of the squad exposed deeper problems.

Editorial

We stand by the belief that leadership in sport demands accountability, especially at national level. When someone as experienced as Sunday Oliseh speaks out about what he perceives to be serious wrongs, we must listen carefully. The idea that a coach might drop key players who helped much of the qualification process, without clear reason or recompense, is deeply troubling.

We believe that the plight of those dropped Agali, Yakubu, Babangida raises questions about fairness, transparency, and respect in football administration. Players give their best for country they deserve at least clarity and honour. Without that, morale suffers, trust erodes, and the reputation of institutions suffers along with them.

Festus Onigbinde’s record may show a mix of wins, losses, and draws, but results alone do not build the full story. It is about how people are treated, how promises are fulfilled, how unions between players, coaches, and federations are maintained or broken. We believe that a coach’s legacy is tarnished more by unjust behaviour than by defeats on the pitch.

Oliseh’s own experience being left out of a World Cup squad despite notable contribution speaks to issues that go deeper than coaching philosophy or tactics. It speaks to governance, to player-welfare, to ethics. Nations benefit when systems reward merit and protect those who serve. When management fails in that duty, football suffers in trust, in performance, in unity.

We assert that this is not merely Sunday Oliseh airing old grievances it is a call to reflect. The NFF must strengthen its transparency frameworks. Coaches must be held accountable not just for results, but for decisions that affect players’ careers and welfare. If Nigeria aims to compete not just in name, but in integrity and respect, we must reckon with this reckoning that Oliseh offers.

Did You Know?

1. Festus Onigbinde first coached the Super Eagles between 1982-84, then returned for a second spell in 2002.
2. Nigeria’s squad in 2002 World Cup had several players who’d helped in the qualification campaign but were later dropped a practice that has been criticised repeatedly.
3. Sunday Oliseh played in two FIFA World Cups (1994 and 1998) and won Olympic gold with Nigeria in 1996.
4. The Home Turf podcast is where Oliseh made the comments about Onigbinde being the worst coach in Super Eagles history.
5. During Onigbinde’s second tenure in 2002, his record with Nigeria was three wins, two draws and three losses.