Sunday Oliseh

Sunday Oliseh

Personal information
Full name	Sunday Ogochukwu Oliseh
Date of birth	(1974-09-14) 14 September 1974 (age 49)
Place of birth	Abavo, Delta State, Nigeria
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1990	Julius Berger
1990–1994	RFC Liège	75	(3)
1994–1995	Reggiana	29	(1)
1995–1997	1. FC Köln	54	(4)
1997–1999	Ajax	54	(8)
1999–2000	Juventus	8	(0)
2000–2004	Borussia Dortmund	53	(1)
2003–2004	→ VfL Bochum (loan) [1] [2]	32	(1)
2005–2006	Genk	16	(0)
Total		321	(18)
International career
1993–2002	Nigeria	54	(2)
Managerial career
2007	Eupen (Sports director)
2008–2009	Verviétois
2015–2016	Nigeria
2017–2018	Fortuna Sittard
2022	SV 19 Straelen
Medal record Representing   Nigeria Men's Football 1996 Atlanta Team Competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sunday Ogochukwu Oliseh (born 14 September 1974) is a Nigerian football manager and former defensive midfielder. Physical yet technically gifted, he played for top European clubs including Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus. He is widely regarded as one of the best African midfielders of all time.

Playing career

Oliseh played 63 international matches and scored three goals ^[3] for Nigeria, and played at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups. Oliseh was also part of Nigeria's Olympic gold medal winning team of 1996.

Oliseh was voted Africa's third best footballer in 1998 by CAF.

He is mostly remembered for scoring the winning goal in the group stage match against Spain in the 1998 World Cup, as Nigeria prevailed 3–2. A throw-in deep in the Spanish half was headed clear by Fernando Hierro – Oliseh ran and fired an explosive shot from 25 yards and took Spanish goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta completely by surprise. ^[4] Despite captaining Nigeria during the 2002 African Cup of Nations, Oliseh was omitted from his country's World Cup squad later that year for disciplinary reasons. After missing out on World Cup selection, Oliseh retired from international football in June 2002, demanding unpaid allowances and dues owed to be paid. ^[5]

In March 2004, Oliseh was sacked by Borussia Dortmund after headbutting teammate Vahid Hashemian while on loan at VfL Bochum allegedly over racial remarks. ^{[6] [7]}

In January 2006, at the age of 31, Oliseh retired from professional football after playing a half season for Belgian First Division A top club K.R.C. Genk. ^[8]

Managerial career

Oliseh started his coaching career in Belgium with youth teams in the Belgian 3rd Division Verviers, notably the Under 19 team. Graduated to the first team as chief coach season 2008–09 Verviers. During the 2014–15 season, he was appointed as the Chief Coach and Club Manager of RCS VISE Belgium 3rd Division.

In 2015–16, was appointed by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) the National Team Chief Coach of Nigeria (Super Eagles of Nigeria) where he made an impressive statistic of; 14 Games (Only 2 losses) 19 Goals scored, 6 conceded.

He qualified Nigeria to the CHAN tournament in Rwanda, qualified Nigeria to the Group phase of the 2018 world cup Qualifiers and on his first game as Chief Coach of Nigeria in an AFCON qualifier managed a draw in Tanzania. He resigned as Nigeria's national coach at about 2:28am on 26 February 2016 exactly a month to the team's encounter with the Pharaohs of Egypt in the AFCON qualifiers. He was barely 8 months into his stay as manager due to contract violations, lack of support, unpaid wages and benefits to his players, Asst. Coaches and himself. ^[9] On 27 December 2016, it was announced that Oliseh had been appointed as the new manager of Fortuna Sittard. ^[10] He was fired on 14 February 2018, ^[11] and claimed the reason he was fired was because he refused to participate in illegal activities at the club. ^[12]

After two years without a club, in March 2020, Oliseh stated that he had turned down "two jobs from Belgian clubs", but that he waited for the right offer. ^[13]

In June 2022, he was appointed as the new head coach of German club SV 19 Straelen. ^{[14] [15]} In August 2022, after just two months in charge, he quit his position after the team suffered five losses in five games. ^[16]

Style of play

Oliseh was a physical yet technically gifted midfielder. ^[17] Although he essentially played as a defensive midfielder throughout his career, Jonathan Wilson noted in a 2013 article for The Guardian that he was an early example of a more creative interpreter of this role, who focussed more on ball retention and passing rather than solely looking to win back possession. ^[18]

Personal life

His younger brothers, Azubuike and Egutu, are also professional footballers; another brother is Churchill Oliseh and his nephew is Sekou Oliseh.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition ^[19]

Club	Season	League
		Division	Apps	Goals
Liège	1990–91	Belgian First Division	3	0
	1991–92		16	1
	1992–93		30	2
	1993–94		26	0
	Total		75	3
Reggiana	1994–95	Serie A	29	1
FC Köln	1995–96	Bundesliga	24	0
	1996–97		30	4
	Total		54	4
Ajax	1997–98	Eredivisie	29	5
	1998–99		25	3
	Total		54	8
Juventus	1999–2000	Serie A	8	0
Borussia Dortmund	2000–01	Bundesliga	22	0
	2001–02		18	1
	2002–03		2	0
	2004–05		11	0
	Total		53	1
Bochum (loan)	2002–03	Bundesliga	11	0
	2003–04		32	1
	Total		75	3
Genk	2005–06	Belgian First Division	16	0
Career total			321	18

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year ^[19]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Nigeria	1993	1	0
	1994	11	0
	1995	3	0
	1996	1	0
	1997	4	0
	1998	7	2
	1999	3	0
	2000	10	0
	2001	7	0
	2002	7	0
	Total	54	2

Honours

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 1997–98
• KNVB Cup: 1997–98, 1998–99

Juventus

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999 ^[20]

Borussia Dortmund

• Bundesliga: 2001–02
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 2001–02

Nigeria U23

• Olympic Gold Medal: 1996

Nigeria

• African Cup of Nations: 1994
• Afro-Asian Cup of Nations: 1995

References

1. "Bochum release Oliseh". BBC Sport. 1 March 2004. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
2. Bennett, Mark (28 April 2004). "Ruhr treat for Bochum". UEFA . Retrieved 4 April 2010.
3. Roberto Mamrud (10 April 2014). "Sunday Ogorchukwu Oliseh - International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
4. "Oliseh goal vs. Spain". YouTube . Archived from the original on 1 February 2011.
5. Obayiuwana, Osasu (19 June 2002). "Sunday Oliseh quits". BBC News. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
6. "Oliseh shown door after punch-up". CNN. 11 March 2004. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
7. "Oliseh not surprised". BBC News. 12 March 2004. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
8. "Oliseh leaves Genk" (in French). sport.be. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007.
9. "Sunday Oliseh Quits Super Eagles: Coach Resigns Over Lack Of Suppor". www.360nobs.com. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
10. Fortuna Sittard verrast: Oliseh is de nieuwe trainer (Dutch). NOS. 27 December 2016.
11. "FORTUNA SITTARD STELT SUNDAY OLISEH OP NON-ACTIEF" (in Dutch). Fortuna Sittard. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018.
12. Sunday Oliseh on Twitter Sunday Oliseh. 14 February 2018.
13. Titus, Vincent (18 March 2020). "Sunday Oliseh reveals why he is yet to return to management". Futaa. Retrieved 23 September 2020. As reported by Sports Extra, Oliseh says he is yet to receive the right offer having turned down two jobs from Belgian clubs. The 45-year-old has been without a club for the last two years since parting ways with Dutch club Fortuna Sittard in 2018.
14. Nigeria legend Oliseh primed for coaching return with German club SV Straelen Goal.com. 22 June 2022.
15. [https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/06/22/oliseh-appointed-coach-in-germany/ Oliseh Appointed Coach in Germany ] Thisdaylive.com. 22 June 2022.
16. Nigeria legend Oliseh resigns from German side SV Straelen after two months Goal.com. 24 August 2022.
17. "Oliseh to Liverpool's Klopp: 'Football will be boring if we all played same way'". www.goal.com. 8 May 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
18. Wilson, Jonathan (18 December 2013). "The Question: what does the changing role of holding midfielders tell us?". The Guardian . Retrieved 31 October 2014.
19. "Oliseh, Sunday". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
20. "Rennes Juventus 2 - 2 (Aggregate: 2 - 4)". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2020.

External links

• Sunday Oliseh at fussballdaten.de (in German)

Sporting positions
Preceded by Uche Okechukwu	Nigeria captain 1998–2002	Succeeded by Jay-Jay Okocha