Five years after his unceremonious exit from the national side, Vincent Enyeama has still not been adequately replaced, admits the Al Nassr forward
Super Eagles skipper Ahmed Musa has revealed that he was shocked when he learned that former national team head coach Sunday Oliseh had stripped Enyeama of the team’s captaincy.
Former Lille goalkeeper Enyeama had a row with the 45-year-old tactician which forced him into early retirement from the national team.
It was an unfortunate manner to bring to a premature end a beautiful international career spanning 13 years, the highlight of which was lifting the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations trophy in South Africa.
But Oliseh could not be appeased even by senior members of the team with the former Borussia Dortmund star hell-bent on stripping Enyeama of the captain’s armband and handing it to Ahmed Musa.
After a frosty relationship with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Oliseh also resigned from his position in 2016, barely eight months after his appointment.
Oliseh’s successor, Gernot Rohr, has been bedevilled by goalkeeping problems since his appointment, a situation made even worse by the health-related exit of ex-Wolves shot-stopper Carl Ikeme.
And despite being able to call on the goalkeeping talents of Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi, and Maduka Okoye, the three-time African champions still miss the quality of Enyeama between the posts, insists Musa.
“We were all shocked when it happened, it was a very sad moment for all of us on that day because we were in camp when it happened,” Musa told Legit.ng.
“After it happened, Mikel, Echiejile, Emenike, and myself went to meet Sunday Oliseh to beg him on behalf of Enyeama, but his mind was already made up, and that’s football for you.
“Even till now, we still miss him (Enyeama) in the team.”
Enyeama amassed 101 caps for the Super Eagles – a joint-most record – and featured at three World Cup finals, the first Nigerian goalie to achieve it.
