Speaking 17 years after, the Modakeke High Chief explained that Super Eagles would have qualified at least for the second round at the 2002 Mundial but thanks to the effort of some of the renegades players whose acts let to the disbandment of the team after the Africa Cup of Nations in Mali.
“I blame myself and truly, I this is perhaps one of my biggest regrets in 2002.
“Those players who were disbanded in 2002 at the Cup of Nations in Mali, I shouldn’t have invited some of them for the World Cup.
“They sabotaged our World Cup and I know, some of them not all.
“We could have won against Argentina and perhaps qualified beyond the group stage. The two goals we conceded against Sweden also, they were deliberate." the former Shooting Stars handler said.
A narrow 1-0 defeat to Argentina and another evident tactical flaws saw Nigeria turn a winning advantage into lost points as Sweden's 2-1 victory end Nigeria's hope at the Japan/Korea Mundial.
Speaking further, Onigbinde said when it dawn on him the antics of the players, that is why I had to change my entire team in our last game against England.
"And you see, that’s why in the last game against England, I change the entire team. That’s when we picked Enyeama and we did fantastically well,” he added.
Onigbinde however single out two players for praise though, lauding their professionalism and leadership in Japan but did not mention names.
“It was among the senior players we invited from the disbanded team in Mali, but not Austin Okocha or Kanu Nwankwo, they were committed and they gave a hundred percent,” he concluded.
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