Keshi taught me how to be a ‘leader of men’ – Oliseh

Sunday Oliseh says African legend Stephen Keshi, “was born to lead” and taught him (Oliseh) how to be a “leader of men”.

Oliseh explained that Keshi made him one of the protected members of the Nigerian men’s national team when they played together and offered him tips on being a leader.

The former Juventus man would later himself become the captain of Nigeria.

He went on to describe Keshi as “the only successfu Nigerian coach”.

“Steve was born to lead. He was one of the first Nigerian players to play professional football in Europe at a time when we had very few black players in Europe. It’s so sad he’s gone.

“Steve is the only successful Nigerian coach we have. If you talk of success you talk of titles won. So, he is definitely the only Nigerian coach with that success.

“I was one of the protected members of his team. He taught me how to lead. He called me to his room. He had his generals in the team. If you want to be a leader of a place you must be a rebel,” Oliseh said on SuperSport’s magazine programme, Soccer Africa, this week.

Keshi and Oliseh were teammates in the 1994 golden generation of the Nigerian men’s national team until the former passed away suddenly on Wednesday.