Former Super Eagles and Wigan Athletic forward, Julius Efosa Aghahowa, has hailed Eric Chelle’s squad management in the 2025 Unity Cup, contrary to Sunday Oliseh’s opinion, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nigeria defeated Ghana in the semi-final of the Unity Cup before sealing victory against Jamaica in a penalty shoot-out on Saturday.
The Malian tactician fielded several newbies as the three-time AFCON winners won the Unity Cup, giving several local players their Super Eagles debut, but for some reason, Sunday Oliseh wasn’t pleased with Eric Chelle.
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Speaking with SuperSports, it appeared the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder wasn’t impressed that the Super Eagles coaching job went to a foreigner.
“Africans are not allowed to coach abroad, and Nigerians are not allowed to coach outside their shores. The only job that is the most prized one, leave it for the people to handle; that’s my opinion.
“I am not a big fan of him [Eric Chelle], I feel it is a sign of disrespect to the coaches and people of Nigeria. I am not going to comment on how good he is, but he looks like a nice guy.
“I feel my country has suffered enough; the coaches, players, and ex-players have suffered enough, and they have paid the price, so let them do their job,” Oliseh said in quotes revealed by Pan Africa Football.
On the flip side, Aghahowa was pleased with how Chelle integrated new players into the team and still made the team tick on a solid level.
“I actually expect that opportunities like this would be taken quite seriously. We know it’s a friendly tournament, but in International football, where Coaches don’t have the luxury of time to work with their players, this is a good platform.
“The Super Eagles coach used the two games played in the Cup to assess the areas of improvement in the team, and he can build on from there,” the ex-Bendel Insurance striker said in an interview with Brila.
Eric Chelle’s side will continue to assess his team to pick the best ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers in September. The Super Eagles return to action against Russia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Friday.