The Nigeria Football Federation is on the cusp of announcing a new head coach for the Super Eagles as a replacement for the departed Jose Peseiro.
In setting an agenda for the process crucial to the development and future of the team, PUNCH Sports Extra sought the opinions of some ex-internationals, who worked their socks off at different levels and times to bring glory to their fatherland.
Leading the race for the plum job are ex-internationals Emmanuel Amuneke and Finidi George, who took charge of the team in recent international friendlies against West African rivals Ghana and Mali in Morocco.
Others are Henry Makinwa, US-based Michael Nsien, and former Nigerian midfielder Sylvanus Okpala.
Here are the takes of the ex-internationals, many of who made a case for an indigenous coach.
Former Eagles midfield enforcer Moses Kpakor said, “The NFF should bring a coach that knows much about African football, especially Nigerian football. By that I mean we have Nigerian-born coaches who know our football, who played at the highest level on the continent, excelled in Europe, and are coaches today: Finidi George, Emmanuel Amuneke, and co. What’s wrong with giving them the job? Nothing is wrong because they have more personal experience with African and global football than the coaches who have coached the Super Eagles in the past 20 years or thereabout. I believe the combination of Finidi and Amuneke is not bad for Nigeria.”
Kadiri Ikhana, a member of the Eagles 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning squad, added, “We have our indigenous coaches who can pilot our national team successfully, and remember that ours have done it in the past, and the present home coaches are more exposed than those who have done it before. Look, there are so many advantages if we allow our indigenous coaches to manage the team.”
Former Abiola Babes and Nigeria centre-back Tajudeen Disu said the local coaches would perform better than their foreign counterparts of given the job by the NFF.
“I think it’s time to give our indigenous coaches a chance to prove themselves again,” the former Flying Eagles star told PUNCH Sports Extra.
“I believe our indigenous coaches will do better than the foreign coaches. If we should consider the past records of our indigenous coaches and the foreign coaches, I will vote for our indigenous coaches. I only believe that the NFF is just doing business with the foreign coaches because they make more money when they hire the foreign coaches. That’s the truth.”
Former Eagles midfielder Fatai Amoo also echoed the call for an indigenous coach, saying, “The Super Eagles need a local coach that will deliver based on the tasks or targets expected of him.”
Another ex-star Basil Nkwocha added, “I think it’s about time we looked inwards. Most of us ex-players, especially those in diaspora, do have the required credentials to lead our teams, if given the chance. I have nothing against foreign managers.
“However, I think it is only right that we are given the opportunity to manage our own. There are obvious African countries that are doing that already. The best case study is the recent past AFCON, where the host team, Ivory Coast, applied this practice. At the moment, the likes of Andrew Uwe, Amuneke, and a few others, including myself, are highly recommended for the job.”
However, former midfielder Wasiu Ipaye, who laid down the marker with the defunct First Bank FC, has a different opinion.
“Yes, my opinion is that we should go for a good and competent foreign coach with pedigree and our indigenous coaches to work with him because if we use indigenous coaches, the foreign-based professional players will not give adequate respect and work well with the coach.”
