Sunday Ogochukwu Oliseh hails from AbavoIka South local government area of Delta State and was born on September 14th, 1974.
Oliseh is well known for his thunderbolt winner against Spain during the France 1998 World Cup group match, but he is much more than that.
This Sunday Oliseh's biography reveals the man behind the name.
- Oliseh Football Career
Club Career
Trophies: 4
Dutch Eredivisie (Ajax 1997/1998)
2 Dutch cup (Ajax 1997/1998, 1998/1999)
Bundesliga (Dortmund 2001/2002)
He started his football career as a defensive midfielder in Julius Berger FC in 1989 under the leadership of coach Joe Erico.
A Belgian agent, Mr. Claude Bissot, later took him to Belgium, and that was how he was signed to RFC Liege's first team in 1990.
He played 75 matches with RFC Liege, scoring three goals with the team before joining Reggiana in 1994.
However, his stint with Reggiana was less successful in terms of personal stats.
Though he played for just a season, playing 29 matches and scored one goal before he left in 1995.
Sunday Oliseh signed with FC Koln in 1995, where he played in 54 matches and scored four goals.
He joined Ajax two years later in 1997, appeared in 54 matches, scored eight goals, and was part of the Ajax team that won the Eredivisie in the 1997/1998 season.
Oliseh had one of his best European successes with the Netherland Giants and was also part of the Ajax team that won the KNVB Cup in the 1997/1998 and 1998/1999 seasons.
Sunday Oliseh joined Juventus in 1999, appeared in eight matches, and was part of the team that won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999.
He continued his stint around Europe when he joined Borussia Dortmund in 2000, appeared in 53 matches, scored one goal, and was part of the Bundesliga team in the 2001/2002 season.
In 2003 Dortmund loaned Oliseh to VFL Bochum, where he appeared in 32 matches and scored one goal.
However, following his return to Dortmund the following year, Oliseh's career hit a low when he head-butted VahidHashemain, a teammate who followed an alleged racial remark from the latter.
Disciplinary actions were filed against Oliseh by the management, which eventually led to his sack from the club.
In 2005, a 31-year-old Oliseh joined Genk, and after appearing in 16 games, he announced his retirement as a footballer.
Nigeria National Team
Honors: 2
1994 Africa Cup of Nations
1995/1996 Gold Olympic Medalist
Sunday Oliseh played in 54 matches and scored several important goals for Nigeria's national team.
He played at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups. He was part of the Super Eagles that won the gold medal in the 1996 Olympics, and in 1988, he was voted African 3rd Best Footballer by the confederation of African Football (CAF).
In the 1998 World Cup, he scored Nigeria's goal to defeat Spain in the group stage match.
Managerial career
After earning a football coaching certificate, Oliseh started his coaching career in 2007 with the under-19 youth team in Belgium before becoming the chief coach of the Verviers in the 2008/2009 season.
In the 2014/2015 season, Sunday Oliseh was made the club's manager and chief coach of the 3rd division RCS VISE Belgium.
Following his successful managerial stints in Europe, the Nigerian Football Federation appointed Oliseh as the chief coach of the country's National Team in the 2015/2016 season.
Under his leadership, the team played 14 matches, scored 19 goals, conceded six goals, and lost two matches.
He helped the Super Eagles qualify for the CHAN tournament in Rwanda and the group phase of the qualifiers 2018 World Cup.
During the AFCON qualifiers match, the team played with Tanzania, and despite the quality of a promising super Eagles that seem disjointed, the Tanzanians were able to clinch a draw.
Not long after, Oliseh resigned as the coach of the Nigeria national team on February 26th, 2016, citing lack of support, contract violation, unpaid wages to him, his assistant coach, and players as his reason for rescinding his contract.
In December 2016, he was appointed as the manager of Fortuna Sittard and stayed for a little bit past a year before being relieved on February 14th, 2018.
Oliseh claimed that the international owners of the club wanted him to indulge in illegal activities, and his refusal led to his sack from the club.
Currently, he is hoping to get a new coaching job in Belgium to be close to his family. Though, in March 2020, he said he turned down two offers in Belgium because he was waiting for a better one.
- Family
Oliseh's Parents
Sunday Ogochukwu Oliseh was born into a Catholic family and is the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Oliseh.
His Dad played football as a goalkeeper when he was younger but broke his hand, ending his playing career.
He decided to further his education and pursued an accounting degree at Amadu Bello University.
Oliseh's mother is a former businesswoman who is currently retired.
Sunday Oliseh Siblings
While Sunday is definitely the most talked-about of his siblings, each of them is well-known because of their profession, which brought them to Limelight.
They are seven in total; six boys and one girl. The most popular of his siblings are Churchill Oliseh, Azubuike Oliseh, Egutu Oliseh, and Tessy Oliseh Amaize.
The eldest, Churchill Oliseh, is a Nigerian Football Manager and manages FC Ebedel. He is credited for his ability to discover football talents and was the one who discovered Obafemi Martins.
Azubuike Oliseh is a former midfielder who last played for Ermis Aradippou FC.
Egutu Oliseh, following in Azubuike and Sunday footsteps, was also a midfielder with the Greek club Olympiakos Laurium FC.
The only lady of the big and successful family, Tessy Oliseh, studied fashion designing at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom and is currently the creative director of Tesla concept Ltd, a well-known fashion brand. The brand won the Nigeria 2006 best fashion designer award.
Wife and Kids
Sunday Oliseh is married to Hafida Oliseh, a Belgian Moroccan woman, and they have a boy Denzel Oliseh) and a baby Girl (name not available) together.
- Net worth, Houses and Cars
Oliseh keeps many things about his life private, and he has never really photographed any car or made a claim to any.
Information on his houses is no different as he has chosen to stay silent on how many houses he has. He currently resides in Europe, and it is believed that he likely lives in his own home.
One house Oliseh could not keep away from the public, is the three-bedroom house he received from the Muhammad Buhari Administration as a gift for being part of the Super Eagles squad that won the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia.
He and other Super Eagles players were beneficiaries of the program.
In terms of Networth, Oliseh is believed to have amassed a fortune during his playing days, but his FIFA controversy seems to have taken a toll on his fortune to the extent he had to set up a Gofundmepage to tackle the life ban trial placed on him by FIFA at the time.
From estimates, Oliseh's networth is probably between $500,000 – $2,000,000
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
