Former Super Eagles captain Austin Okocha says he gave Sunday Oliseh painkillers to play at the 2000 African Cup of Nations final against Cameroon in Lagos.
According Okocha, Oliseh was almost forced to pull out of the final after aggravating a hamstring injury in their 2-0 win over South Africa in the semi-final.
The defensive midfielder had a huge impact in the quarter-final win over Senegal, coming off the bench to bag an assist as the Eagles came from a goal down to beat the Teranga Lions 2-1.
In his statement, “We were having a good tournament heading into the final but Sunday (Oliseh) was not fully fit to play.
“We needed him in the team for the final and also as the captain of the team, so I offered him painkillers to play.
“I gave him the painkillers because playing with him gave me and the forwards in the team more confidence to attack. It’s unfortunate that we lost the final the way we did in front of our home fans.”
