Former Juventus midfielder Sunday Oliseh said former director Luciano Moggi was ‘a great man’ but admitted his time in Turin ‘wasn’t my best moment’.
The 46-year-old Nigerian moved to the Old Lady from Ajax for €10m in July 1999, but the midfielder has revealed he rather wanted a transfer to Roma, who were outbid by the Bianconeri.
“After two years at Ajax, Roma and Juventus wanted me,” he told Il Posticipo. “I wanted to play at the Giallorossi because Fabio Capello was at the helm.
“He was a coach I really liked and who had arrived to build a good team. I consider him a great coach, one of the best in the world, he made me understand what he wanted, he was clear with me. I have a lot of respect for this man.
“But the Bianconeri made a better offer for my team. Ajax wanted to sell me to Juventus over Roma, so in the end I went to Turin.”
Oliseh spent one season with Juventus under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti and admitted he didn’t experience ‘his best moment’ in Turin and asked director Moggi to leave in September 1999.
“Ancelotti was young,” he said. “I was not the only one who played little. Other players were in my situation too.
“It wasn’t one of the best moments of my career. I didn’t feel well in the dressing room. I didn’t like how I was treated.
read also:Former Nigeria coach Oliseh raises alarm over Ndidi’s new role at Leicester City
“In September, I asked to leave, but the director, Moggi, told me no. I had some physical problems with my ankles.
“The following year, I moved to Borussia Dortmund in Germany. The offer had arrived and only half an hour later I had already signed.
“In the 2001-02 season with them, I won the Bundesliga and played in the UEFA Cup Final. My experience at Juve wasn’t anybody’s fault. It wasn’t the right time to move there.”
The former Nigeria international said Moggi was ‘a great man’ and said the leaders at Juventus wasn’t the reason he had a bad experience with the Bianconeri.
“He [Moggi] was criticised for things that didn’t concern his relationship with the players. He was our director and would always listen when I wanted to talk,” he said.
“He was our director and for me, he was a great man. I’m sorry if others think differently. There were three in that Juve, with Roberto Bettega and Antonio Giraudo.
“They were great, I had no problems with them and not even with Ancelotti, even if he didn’t let me play.”