Eriksson: NFF Wanted Half My Salary To Lead Super Eagles To FIFA World Cup In South Africa

Eriksson: NFF Officials Wanted Half My Salary To Lead Super Eagles To FIFA World Cup In South Africa 

Rasaq Oboirien

Before Sven-Goran Eriksson, the former England Manager who took Ivory Coast to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, was meant to manage the Super Eagles at that tournament. But he refused to ‘share’ his wages with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) mafia, reports BSNSports.com.ng. 

Eriksson revealed in his book My Story Sven that he was interviewed by a panel of officials, who asked “stupid” questions, for the vacant Super Eagles post at the Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

"In the summer of 2010, the World Cup was to be played in Africa for the

first time, in South Africa to be exact. I was still disappointed that I would

not be taking Mexico there. This would be the first World Cup without me since 1998. 

"I was also out of a job after the whole Notts County affair. Thati s when Athole called me with a new assignment - manager of Nigeria's

national team. Nigeria was one of the five African teams to qualify for the

World Cup. Maybe I would still be part of the tournament after all?

"I had long been curious about African football. I remember how impressed I had been when watching Nigeria almost knock out Italy in 1994. Two years later, Nigeria won the Olympics. During the past 10 to 15 years, African players had flocked to Europe and many had established themselves at the highest levels in the European leagues. 

"No African team had managed to get beyond the quarter-finals in a World Cup. Perhaps it was time for one of them to take that next step?

But many problems plagued African football. Economic resources were

lacking at the grassroots and elite levels. Corruption was said to be widespread and planning often non-existent. 

"After Nigeria lost the semi-final of the African Cup of Nations, the Nigerian FA had sacked the team coach, despite just four months remaining before the World Cup, to bring in a European replacement. Like many other African countries, Nigeria did not trust domestic coaches.

"I flew to Abuja, the Nigerian capital, to meet the Nigerian FA and, I thought, negotiate the job as Nigeria manager. I knew the Nigerians had also shown some interest in the coach of the Egyptian national team, but I assumed the job was mine if I wanted it. I should not have made that assumption.

"We met at the Hilton Hotel in Abuja. In the meeting room, perhaps 10 people were sitting, as if on a panel, behind a table. Right away, they started asking stupid questions. Which formation was I planning to play?

"Why was I the right man for the job? How could I help Nigeria win the

World Cup? This was no negotiation, it was an interview. I had been around

in the football business for too long to have to sit there and be interviewed about a job, especially by people who did not know anything about football. It was also clear that they did not research me or my background. All they knew was that I had been in England.

"After the meeting, an agent whom Athole worked with locally explained

that half of my salary would be deposited into a special bank account. It was not too hard to figure out that the special bank account would involve someone else taking a piece of my pie if I got the job. There was no way I would agree to that. I never received an offer of a contract, and it was justas well. 

"Not long after that, Lasse Lagerbäck, the former Sweden manager, was appointed manager of Nigeria. When I met Lasse later, I asked him if he had also been 'interviewed' by the Nigerian Football Association. He had."