Skoda Xanthi of Greece defender Adefemi Olubayo has hailed the appointment of Samson Siasia as the new Super Eagles head coach and has likened the Bayelsa-born tactician to Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho.
Olubayo played under Siasia as Nigeria‘s U-20 and U-23 national sides placed second at the 2005 U-20 World Cup and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games respectively and believes the coach can perform even better at senior level.
”I am proud to have played under Siasia because he knows how to get the best out of a player and people love him because of his disciplinary stance. Siasia is a special one every player would like to play for, just like Real Madrid coach Mourinho,” Olubayo told our correspondent on the telephone on Thursday.
The former Insurance of Benin player added that Siasia would be able to manage the so-called Big Boys in the Eagles.
He said, ”I don‘t know what you mean by Big Boys because I believe everybody in the team will like to work with Siasia.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the world‘s most expensive player but he still works under Mourinho. Personally, I don‘t believe any player is bigger than their coach.”
Olubayo missed out on the 2010 Africa Nations Cup and the World Cup squads but he refused to state if the appointment of his coach at youth level would ensure his return to the senior national side.
”I feel I should have been in the team even before the appointment of Siasia because I have played consistently for my club this season but I won‘t blame anybody for my exclusion,” he added.
Olubayo was one of Nigeria‘s brightest talents in the mid 2000s and – along with other fine players like Mikel Obi, Taye Taiwo, Chinedu Obasi, helped Nigeria reach the 2005 U-20 World Cup final – but he has largely struggled in Europe with earlier spells in Israel, Romania, Austria and France.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011191574093
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