Olaleye Idowu
Former Super Eagles striker Samson Siasia has stated that football stars born in Europe who play for Nigeria are doing so because they did not receive the opportunity to play for other countries.
The former Super Eagles coach made this statement while highlighting the contrasting paths taken by players of his era and those currently playing for the Super Eagles.
Siasia told Emmanuel Babayaro on UTVAfrica that while players in his time started at home before moving abroad and then returning to play for the national team, most national team players at the moment were born abroad.
“The crop of players we had during that era, 1990-1998, were great players that left the shores of Nigeria, went to Europe and came back, not now that we are bringing in players from Europe to come and play for Nigeria – two different things,” Siasia said.
“Kids who were born in Europe or went at an early age, doing well for their clubs, are back to play for the national team.
“If they had a chance to play for a European country, great players, they won’t come. We struggled and made it to Europe, but they were born.”
A large number of the current Super Eagles players are players born in Europe. The likes of Alex Iwobi, William Troost-Ekong, Ademola Lookman, Felix Agu, Collins Ajayi, Ola Aina, among many others, are European-born players.
Siasia suggests that most of these players would not have played for the Super Eagles if they were playing at top levels when they switched allegiance or made the decision to represent the three-time African champions.
