Nigeria’ll keep losing stars

Former Poland international, Emmanuel Olisadebe, predicts more Nigerian star footballers will switch their allegiance to other countries.

Though Nigerian by birth, Olisadebe made his debut for the Polish national team in 2000, scoring eight goals during the 2002 World Cup qualifiers to help Poland secure a place in the Korea/Japan finals.

He also scored Poland’s first goal at the 2002 World Cup campaign in a 3-1 victory against the United States.

The likes of John Fashanu (England), Oguchi Onyewu (USA), Angelo Ogbonna (Italy), Dennis Aogo (Germany), David Alaba (Austria), Gabriel Agbonlahor (England) and Patrick Owomoyela (Germany) have also ditched Nigeria for other countries, with the latest being ex-junior international, Emmanuel Sarki, who pledged his international future to Haiti.

“It will not stop, especially when you cannot play for your country because you are playing in a country where their league is not among the best. It’s based on personal decision and the way the player wants to move on with his life. Because they really want to showcase what they have internationally, players can decide to adopt certain countries and play for them,” the ex-Jasper United striker told our correspondent on Thursday.

Accusing fingers have been pointed at Nigerian football officials for the development, with some citing the politics in the football sector as a major reason.

Olisadebe, who never received a call-up to the Super Eagles, despite some scintillating performances for Polonia Warsaw, agrees.

He said after helping his club win the treble in Poland in 2000, his adopted country rewarded him with a call-up to their national side.

The retired striker said, “There are many factors involved in a player wanting to play for another country. From my personal experience, I was doing well but I was never called up, even for the Flying Eagles. Since another country appreciated my efforts, I decided to play for them.

“Another player may tell you a different story. Maybe it’s a way of securing his future, getting a foreign passport and things like that. For me, I decided to play for Poland because they appreciated me and gave me the opportunity.

“Because Polonia won three cups in 2000, our coach was given the national team job. I contributed a lot to his success and in trying to pay me back, he decided to invite me to the national team and I didn’t reject the offer.”