German regional side SV Straelen appoints former Super Eagles skipper Sunday Oliseh as its new manager

FORMER Super Eagles skipper Sunday Oliseh has been named as the head coach of German Regionalliga West side SV Straelen with immediate effect after being handed a one year contract.

Oliseh, 47, who has in the past managed the Super Eagles, Dutch second division side Fortuna Sittard and served as sporting director of Belgian side Eupen, has also been a member of Fifa’s technical committee. Straelen’s boss Hermann Tecklenburg revealed that the club decided to hand Oliseh a one-year contract after fruitful conversations over the past couple of weeks

Mr Tecklenburg said: “Yes, Sunday Oliseh will be our new coach. A good 14 days ago, we had delicious asparagus at the Straelener Hof. That was a good conversation and in the last 24 hours, we were also able to discuss an employment contract until June 30, 2023.

“On Wednesday 22 June, Sunday will lead the first practice session. We look forward to working together. After this long break, Sunday is excited about his new job at SV Straelen.”

With this appointment, Oliseh returns to Germany, where he spent seven cumulative years during his playing days wearing the colours of FC Cologne, Borussia Dortmund and Vfl Bochum. He was a member of the Dortmund side that lifted the Bundesliga title in 2002.

A key member of Nigeria’s victorious Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games squad, Oliseh played for Juventus, Ajax, and Genk before retiring in 2006. SV Straelen are in the fourth-tier of the German football league structure.

Oliseh, a defensive midfielder, was appointed as Belgian side Eupen’s sporting director in 2007 after retiring from football. In 2015, he was appointed as the Super Eagles manager but lasted less than nine months before he resigned due to disagreements with the Nigeria Football Federation.

In 2017, Oliseh was named as the manager of Dutch second division side Fortuna Sittard and was doing well until he was dismissed towards the end of the season. Oliseh, regarded as one of Nigeria’s finest ever midfielders, said he is ready to open a new chapter of his story with this new appointment.