We meet in Eupen, Belgium, at a large Carrefour market with attached dining areas. Oliseh arrives, greets a few people, and joins us. "Normally, I sit at a different café here, but it's closed today," he begins. The former Ajax star lives just a ten-minute drive from our location. "I've been here for almost thirty years. It’s wonderful. I feel great, content with my life, and proud of my children."
With a smile on his face, he looks around and continues calmly: "I'm grateful for what I have now: a beautiful marriage and two amazing children." He still works in football in his daily life. "I work occasionally for FIFA as a football expert, sometimes I get approached by the Nigerian Football Federation for advice, and I’m involved in various projects here in Belgium."
Impact
We go back to 1997, when Oliseh joined Ajax from German club 1. FC Köln. "Wow, time flies," he laughs. "You're making me feel old now. But I remember it well. I was ambitious and hungry. I wanted to make a name for myself at the club. My parents always told us: make a positive impact. Leave your mark." Or 'a fingerprint', as he calls it.
The year before, Oliseh had become an Olympic champion with Nigeria, played in the 1994 World Cup at the age of 19, and won the Africa Cup of Nations. "The funny thing was, I was relatively well-known because of my achievements with Nigeria. But not in the Netherlands. That was a big motivation for me, and it worked perfectly. Ajax was going through a tough phase at the time, but it was already such a historic club with truly amazing fans. They were 'crazy', in a good way. And all I had to do was play football and win," he smiles again.
Sympathy for Olsen
Olsen personally brought Oliseh to Amsterdam. "Olsen is still a friend of mine to this day. He's one of the most remarkable people I've ever met in my life. I could have gone to AC Milan in Italy, the biggest league at the time. But then Ajax and Olsen called. Morten was very clear and specific about what he wanted from me. I found the project and challenge in Amsterdam a better fit for me."
The Danish coach, who recently turned 75, earned a lot of respect from Oliseh. "It's something about Africans. If you treat us well, we're loyal. We're sensitive people, and we avoid coaches who don't treat us right. Morten respected everyone but was also very principled. You had to work hard, sometimes too hard," he laughs again. "I love clarity, honesty, and respect towards people, and I think it works vice versa. That’s how Morten was as well."
Best friend 'Baba'
Within the Ajax squad, Oliseh quickly became close to his fellow countryman, Babangida. "I just saw him yesterday, and we laughed about our time at Ajax." Babangida is currently in the Netherlands recovering from a serious accident in Nigeria. Oliseh has given his friend all the support he can. "I flew directly to Nigeria to see him after the incident, once he was out of the hospital. He’s like a brother to me. 'Baba' is recovering here, and he’s doing better now than he was in Nigeria. He's a strong man."
Several players from the Ajax team that won the UEFA Champions League in 1995 were still in the squad when Oliseh arrived. He speaks highly of Danny Blind. "It was a privilege to play alongside him. He was so smart and could read the game so well. As a leader within the group, he knew how things worked, simple as that. When I see him these days, it's always great. And Edwin?" Oliseh smiles again. "In my career, I've had only a few 'normal' goalkeepers, if you know what I mean. He was one of them. I could talk with Edwin about life, economics, and we laughed a lot together. It didn't surprise me at all when he later became the CEO. I like him a lot," referring to Edwin van der Sar.
Shota Arveladze, Michael Laudrup, Andrzey Rudy, Ole Tobiasen, Dean Gorré, and Benni McCarthy were all players who arrived with Oliseh at the start of the 1997/1998 season. "Our squad was exceptional, and the quality in every position was high. Look at Arveladze, and especially Laudrup. The Dane was our Zinédine Zidane and always a gentleman."
Trademark
Ajax kicked off the new season with a bang. According to the former Ajax player, there was one key reason: "Morten, Morten Olsen. From the very start, he was clear: if we don’t finish first, we've failed. That's what he said. The team immediately followed him, which was crucial because we had a lot of new players. The squad was hungry and ambitious. We wanted to be the first team to become champions in the ArenA (opened in 1996, ed.). That was something we, the new guys, talked about a lot. I discussed it often with 'Baba'."
The country was curious about Ajax's first match, at home against Vitesse. The Amsterdam side won 5-0, and Oliseh scored a fantastic goal. We show him the goal, and as the ball hits the net, he remembers. "Yes, now I remember. It became a bit of my trademark. I can’t do that anymore though, I'd need a massage afterwards," he laughs.
"You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. The whole of the Netherlands was curious about us. In this match, we immediately dominated," he continues about that game. "The goal that season was clear. We won, checked it off, and moved on. That’s how we viewed that match and everything that followed."
Role in the team
Ajax powered on, and Oliseh played an important role in the team, which he acknowledges. "I was calm when I needed to be, but many players also came to me for advice. Sometimes, they'd come over to my place for dinner to talk about things. When I see players from that time now, it feels so familiar. My wife always laughs when she sees us together."
We show Oliseh some of his goals, against clubs like NEC, sc Heerenveen, AZ, and his free kick against Fortuna Sittard. He leans forward with a big smile as he watches his goals. "I practiced every Thursday after training. It's really nice to see this; I haven’t seen these in a long time," he says gratefully. "I do feel older now though, seeing this." His goal against AZ comes on. "Oh, not bad," he says in his best Dutch. "I wasn’t too bad, was I?" he laughs.
Winning and enjoying
With a huge goal difference, Olsen's Ajax eventually won the 1998 championship. They also won the Dutch Cup, defeating PSV convincingly in the final. Oliseh recalls that final. "We wanted to make a statement and beat PSV badly, because they were the only team that had beaten us (3-4) before we became champions. They had ruined our Christmas (Ajax – PSV was on December 21, 1997). I was in a bad mood during the holidays, and Olsen told me later that he was too. We didn't just want to win, we wanted to outclass them."
"But time flies," Oliseh continues. "Fifty years already. When I look back on that time, I get such a good feeling. There was so much chemistry, energy, and joy in the group. Whenever I'm invited to parties or reunions at Ajax, I always go. Even my wife tells me I should go. It was such an amazing time and such an amazing group. I had a fantastic period in Amsterdam, one of the best of my career."
