The ‘Governor’ of Sittard

Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh, expressed excitement after recording a sixth straight Dutch second league win with Fortuna Sittard following a 3-1 victory over Jong Utrecht penultimate Saturday. The Fortuna manager posted on his social media handle that his team had qualified for a playoff spot for promotion to the top division.

“Yes, we have qualified for the playoffs, to promotion! Wow, 6th consecutive victory yesterday vs Jong Utrecht 3-1, stay top of the league into the new year and automatic qualification for the playoffs”, he wrote on his Facebook account.

“Only God can help wield such a miracle: From relegation struggle to playoff in 12 months.”

The win took Fortuna Sittard back to the top of the Eerste Divisie table with 41 points from 19 games, one point ahead of NEC Nijmegen who have a game in hand.

Fortuna Sittard will take on Jong Ajax in their next fixture on January 12, next year.

Oliseh’s arrival at the club has culminated in a rise in form with Sittard’s who fought hard to beat the drop last season now in prime position to secure promotion to the top flight.

Fortuna Sittard was struggling at the foot of the Dutch second division when Oliseh called to inform that he was available for the vacant coaching position to the amazement of the club’s technical director, Charly Chudik, who expresse his surprised at hearing the voice of the former Nigerian international. The team seemed to be in a disastrous state in 18th place, so why would such a famous person be interested? And why would he get in touch instead of sending his agent, as it is usually done?

"I received various offers after resigning from the Nigerian national team. A top club from South Africa, a club from Portugal and numerous national football federations approached me, but I wasn't interested. Family is the most important thing to me. I wanted to go to a place that would make me happy. Sittard is just 45 minutes by car from my home," he said in an interview with ELF Voetbal magazine. "

Sittard, situated in Limburg close to the Belgian border, are a proud club of interesting heritage. They may have only won two cup trophies more than half a century ago, but spent long seasons in the Eredivisie and nurtured a number of quality players, including the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich midfielder Mark van Bommel.

However, Fortuna were not fortunate at all following relegation in 2001, and went close to bankruptcy at least three times. Turkish businessman Isitan Gun took over in the summer of 2016 and saved them.

"Without Gun, Fortuna wouldn't have been around these days. He brought stability to the club and appointed new people to the board," De Gelderlander journalist, Robert Husken, told ESPN FC.

The 2016-17 season was tough in the extreme, though, and coach Ben van Dael was fired following a terrible run of just one point from nine matches. Oliseh was waiting for that opportunity to offer himself, and the club got a coach they could never have dreamt of.

Now, as the first black African coach ever in the Netherlands, he has had to deal with a different situation. Fortuna played in front of empty stands in recent years, but Oliseh changed the atmosphere around the club almost immediately. He got off to a winning start at the magnificently Achilles'29 stadium, and proceeded to get some outstanding results. The 5-2 win over Ajax reserves, having trailed 2-0 at half-time, was especially memorable and fans started to flow back to the stadium. Sittard only lost five times in the second round under the new coach and finished the season well above the relegation zone.

One of the biggest critics of Oliseh’s appointment as Super Eagles coach, Tajudeen Disu said, “Oliseh is not the right choice for the Super Eagles coaching job. The team is bigger than him. He is just a business partner of the NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, and that was why they were able to pay him five months’ salary upfront. Oliseh is not the messiah for the Eagles, but the present federation wanted somebody they can do business with.”

Speaking on Oliseh’s rising profile with Sittard, Disu said the former Juventus of Italy midfielder definitely must have learnt some few lessons during his stint with the national team.

“Of course, he is not a dumb. He would not have gone without taking away one or two things that he had added to his experience which he is using to his advantage at his club,” he added.

Not much has however changed in Oliseh's approach at his Belgian club. During his spell with the national team he stripped Vincent Enyeama of the captaincy and forced him into international retirement. Curiously, that was the case at Fortuna, too, as veteran captain Ferry de Regt left the club in the summer, having fallen out with Oliseh. Assistant coach Tini Ruijs and goalkeeping coach Patrick Creemers left too, unable to work under Oliseh, which culminated De Limburger journalist, Patrick Delait, accusing Oliseh of installing authoritarian regime.

"He behaves like a governor, and nobody dares to contradict him," he wrote. "By constantly sharpening internal relationships, the Nigerian is becoming a ticking bomb. He looks sympathetic on TV, but behind the scene, he is a wolf in sheep's clothing."

So far, those pessimistic expectations haven't come true. On the contrary, Oliseh has made a phenomenal start to the season, winning five games out of seven, including a the 6-0 triumph at previously unbeaten Telstar, the biggest away win in club history and only losing once.

That is not the only record broken by Oliseh. Taking the previous season into account, Fortuna are on an unprecedented run of eight home wins in a row.

Having laid solid defensive foundations, Oliseh is letting his team play an attacking brand of football, with 21 goals scored so far. Talking to ESPN FC, Delait Husken admits, "Oliseh is a good motivator who is very strict with his tactics. Fortuna play as a unit under him."

Husken added: "Sunday is a nononsense coach who is very clear on what he expects from his players. Having such a star on the bench makes a massive influence on the team."

Few pundits expect Fortuna to keep running and gain promotion, but the youngsters are starting to dream big.

"The spirit of the squad is truly incredible. I have to calm the players at times, because everyone is so hungry,” Oliseh said recently.

The turnaround has been phenomenal already and the Nigerian is making a name for himself as a coach. But the club will be wary, lest he be lured away from his home in Eupen after his contract at Sittard ends next summer.

If he can gain promotion, though, managing such a tight knit team in the Eredivisie could bring some surprising results.

Oliseh quit as Nigeria’s football coach after claiming violations of his contract and receiving too little help from the national federation for the crucial 2017 Africa Cup of Nations clash with Egypt.