Nigeria would have rivaled England for the international future of five players currently in the set up of the English national team if not for the attitude and conduct of former president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick.
Pinnick was the president for eight year and saw a lot of players born abroad make the switch to the senior national team of Nigeria, but the number could have been a lot higher.
An aide of the former coach of the team Gernot Rohr told OwnGoalNigeria.com, that the manner Pinnick went about talking players to switch nationality to the senior national team of Nigeria made five players to shun the idea.
” I can tell you that if we used a better approach we probably would have stand a very good chance with Bukayo Saka, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, Ebere Eze and Michael Olise. Pinnick’s approach was too autocratic”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive chat.
” For instance, they all saw how it went down with Tammy in the media and became really careful to speak on anything that has to do with switching nationality. Pinnick posted pictures with Eze when talks were going on behind the scene. It made the players to be under huge pressure from family, their agents and the press. It didn’t help us in anyway”, he stated.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
