Samson Siasia Reveals Why He Was Once Dropped From Super Eagles, Speaks On Europe-Born Stars

Former Super Eagles striker and coach Samson Siasia has revealed how refusing to pass to Rashidi Yekini once got him dropped from the national team.

Samson Siasia, who later went on to coach the national team, said the incident happened during a crucial World Cup qualifier against the Ivory Coast in Abidjan.

“It was one of my toughest moments,” Siasia recalled in an interview with Emmanuel Babayaro on UTVAfrica.

“I am a striker. Rashidi Yekini won’t give me that ball if it were him, that’s the truth. Sometimes you miss, sometimes you score. Rashidi has been one of the greatest strikers I have ever played with. May his soul rest in peace.

“My downtimes? First was when I didn’t pass the ball to Rashidi Yekini, and they had to kick me out of the team, and I had to hustle myself back.”

Siasia explained that while many criticised him for not feeding Yekini the ball, he had previously created chances that the late striker could not convert.

“Things happen, we don’t always score every chance,” he said.

Beyond reflecting on the golden generation of the 1990s, Siasia also turned his attention to the present-day Super Eagles. He argued that the current squad is heavily made up of Europe-born players who only opted for Nigeria after failing to get chances with other national teams.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Note that today’s Super Eagles feature several Europe-born stars such as Alex Iwobi, William Troost-Ekong, Ademola Lookman and Ola Aina. The said players have gone on to become the mainstay of the team.