Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has revealed what happened that led to a bust up between Victor Osimhen and his teammate Ademola Lookman during the Super Eagles round of 16 game against Mozambique at the AFCON.
Both players had a go at each other with Osimhen the aggressor seemingly angry at a teammate in Bruno Onyemaechi for not passing the ball to him, while he was in a good position to score.
Lookman tried to intervene but Osimhen reacted angrily and had to be separated from his teammate. He subsequently requested to be subbed off and refused to join the team’s play until he was replaced by Paul Onuachu.
Speaking on the rift that almost destroyed the team at the tournament, Chelle explained the conversation that led to the bust up and how it was subsequently addressed for the good of the team.
“On the pitch, there was a discussion with Lookman. Victor told him: ‘We need to stop playing in front of goal like this.’ Things got a bit heated, a minor clash, but that’s just part of life in the dressing room. At the end of the match, he came back angry, he needed time to cool off. And once he’d calmed down, he was back to being the Victor we all know”, Chelle told RMC in an interview monitored by our editorial team.
“There was never any question of him not playing against Algeria, never. What happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room. I didn’t even need to intervene. We got back to the hotel, the two of them talked it out, and that was the end of it,” the coach revealed.
