Oliseh, Enyeama face off in Super Eagles’ Belgium camp; as goalkeeper considers retirement

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed reports of a face-off between the Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh and the team captain, Vincent Enyeama at the team’s training camp in Belgium.

This is just reports also indicate that the Super Eagles longstanding goalkeeper has been stripped of the team’s captaincy following the row with the coach.

The Super Eagles are currently preparing for the friendly matches against Cameroun and the Democratic Republic of Congo billed for this weekend, by camping in Belgium.

Early Tuesday, reports claimed that the coach and his captain were involved in a war of words leading to Enyeama being thrown out of the camp by the coach.

However, the NFF via its Twitter handle has moved to reassure Nigerians on the state of affairs at the camp by stating that the confrontation between coach and player had been put to rest and that Enyema had resumed training with the rest of the team.

“It’s true that there was a little misunderstanding in the camp of @NGSuperEagles, but the matter has been resolved. Enyeama remains in camp,” the NFF tweeted.

While actual cause of the altercation between both team members is yet to be confirmed, the captain Enyeama had missed the Super Eagles’ last match against Tanzania on account of having lost his mother just days before the encounter in Abuja.

Meanwhile, Vincent Enyeama has admitted he is considering his future with the Super Eagles Nigeria after being stripped of the captaincy by Sunday Oliseh following a row with coach Oliseh.

The goalkeeper, who has 101 caps, was reported to have arrived a day late for Nigeria’s training camp in Belgium after attending his mother’s funeral. He was ordered to apologise to his team-mates for his late arrival and the CSKA Moscow winger Ahmed Musa has been given the captaincy instead.

“There has been a lot of incidents these last few months,” Enyeama said, adding: “I don’t need it, the team does not need it, so maybe the best thing might be to step aside in the interest of the country so that the team can focus on football instead of distractions.”

The Nigeria Football Federation confirmed on Twitter there had been a “little misunderstanding” but that the goalkeeper remains with the squad as they prepare for the friendly with DR Congo on Thursday.

“I was surprised. So I stood up to explain my position and ask for an explanation, but the coach asked me to sit down,” Enyeama said.

“I insisted on speaking because I felt that with the years of dedicated service I have given to the country I deserve at least the respect of giving my own side. But he told me that either the whole team would leave the room, or I would have to leave the room for the whole team.”

However, indications are rife that the 101-capped Nigeria International, Enyeama may have been dropped for match completely, billed for Thursday, as the coach may have opted for CSKA Moscow forward Ahmed Musa, who captained the team to the win against Tanzania, last month, to serve wear the captain’s armband.

Enyeama allegedly arrived at the Nigeria camp on Tuesday, a day after Monday’s deadline, having attended his mother’s funeral over the weekend in his home town.

According to reports, Oliseh was unhappy about his captain’s late arrival and demoted him at a team meeting after dinner, naming CSKA Moscow forward Ahmed Musa as the new captain.