Super Eagles Job: Odds favour indigenous coach this time around 

By Harry Awurumibe,  Editor-in-Chief, Abuja

As Nigerians look forward to the appointment of a New Head Coach of the country’s senior football team, Super Eagles in the coming days, it is very important that the Technical and Development Committee of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) rises above board to make a wise choice on behalf of over 230 million Nigerians who own the team.

The expectation of most  football-loving Nigerians is for the Committee saddled with the responsibility of picking a new gaffer for the national team to select the best candidate, most qualified with requisite credentials amongst the applicants to lead the Super Eagles at this particular time.

In fact, majority of Nigerians at home and diaspora will look forward to the Committee, for the first time in a long time, choose an indigenous coach from the list of applicants who have applied for the vacant post vacated by the last expatriate manager, Josè Peseiro who decided not to renew his contract over the amount of money he wanted to be paid by NFF.

This was after he led Nigeria to the second place finish in the recently concluded 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) held in Cotè d Ivoire. The host country defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the epic final but majority of Nigerians believe that the Super Eagles deserved to win the coveted trophy if a more technically sound manager had led the team to the biannual continental football tournament.

Thins is even as many football followers argued that the style of the game the Super Eagles played throughout the competition where the reigning African Best Footballer of the Year,  Victor Osimhen was left upfront alone in seven matches to chase the ball rather than being supplied the ball to score did not speak well about Nigeria, a country known for her attacking football.

Others argued that the defensive tactics adopted by the departed Portuguese was instrumental to a number of deaths of football fans recorded in Nigeria the day Super Eagles beat Bafana Bafana of South Africa 4-2 on penalties after the regulation time had ended in 1-1 in the semi final game.

Aside the Eagles’ poor display in AFCON, many Nigerians were not impressed with Peseiro’s pedigree when he was hired by NFF while the overall performance of the Super Eagles under his watch was below par, a situation which made many Nigerians to write off the Eagles before the AFCON, although they later surpassed expectations at the tournament.

For this singular reason, majority of Nigerians more than ever before are favourably disposed to see the Committee pick an indigenous coach to handle the Super Eagles especially a coach who has track records of coaching at the youth levels and developing some of the players currently in the Super Eagles squad.

Perhaps, this explains why African countries like Senegal has kept faith with an indigenous Head Coach, Aliou Cisse, a former captain of Teranga Lions of Senegal and former U-23 coach whom the Senegalese Football Federation hired nine years ago.

Despite a recent setback at the 2023 AFCON where Senegal lost to Ivory Coast in the Round of 16, the 47-year-old’s contract has been renewed. The renewal by Senegalese FA reflects confidence in his leadership and abilities.

Also, this extension means that by the end of his new contract in 2026, Cisse will have led the Teranga Lions for a total of 11 uninterrupted years.

Taking over from french man Alain Giresse in 2015 after a disappointing AFCON campaign, Cisse has since guided Senegal to qualify for the last two FIFA World Cups. At the last World Cup finals in Qatar, they reached the knockout phase.

His current objective is to lead the team to the 2026 World Cup hosted in USA-Canada-Mexico just as the Teranga Lions of Senegal are leading group B of the 2026 African World Cup qualifiers with four points ahead of Sudan, DR Congo, Togo, Mauritania and South Sudan.

Indeed, Cisse has had success in the African Nations Cup, finishing as runner-up in 2019 and securing Senegal’s first trophy in 2021 by defeating Egypt in a penalty shootout in Cameroon.

Other African countries who have turned to the indigenous coaches like Senegal are Algeria Football Federation, Egypt Football Association (EFA) and Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) which has the history of high turnover of foreign coaches but has settled for an indigenous coach Rigobert Song, an ex-international player who was on February 28, 2022, was announced as a replacement for Toni Conceição as the manager of the Cameroon senior national team, Indomitable Lions.

Although Nigeria eliminated Cameroon in the knockout phase of the 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire,  FECAFOOT has retained Song and has supported him to carry on with his rebuilding process instead of looking for a new coach.

Most recently, the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) did the unthinkable by sacking their French-born coach Jean-Louis Gasset in the middle of 2023 AFCON and replaced him with “home-boy” Emerse Fae who led the Elephants to win the country’s third AFCON trophy after defeating Super Eagles 2-1 in the final match.

The Ivorian FA has therefore shown the NFF the way to go and there is no better time for Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau led NFF Executive Committee

to look inwards and pick an indigenous coach to handle the Super Eagles than now hence the Technical and Development Committee headed by Alhaji Sharif Rabiu Inuwa ‘Ahlan’, an experienced football administrator, has a date with history to either continue to outsource the position of Head Coaches of our national teams (Super Eagles and Super Falcons) to foreigners or save the scarce foreign exchange (Forex) for the development of football in Nigeria.

But in taking this bold steps, Nigerians want the best indigenous coach to get the post irrespective of religious belief, ethnicity and language as football does not understand the above barriers and Nigerians from Kaura Namoda, Kebbi state to Kalabari, Rivers state, Maiduguri, Borno state to Isiala Mbano, Imo state and across the country see themselves as one when the Super Eagles or Falcons are on the pitch against other nations.

Also, it will be wise if the NFF through this Committee copy the examples of many African Football Federations (FAs) that have joined their counterparts in Europe, Asia, South America and North American nations to embrace their indigenous coaches because no foreign coach has won the FIFA World Cup for another country not his own.

This is why Ahlan’s Committee which has very knowledgeable football personalities like the Vice Chairman/NFF 1st Vice President and former Chairman of Enyimba International FC, Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu; former African Footballer of the Year, Victor Ikpeba; Mr. Felix Akinloye; Mallam Zanna Mala; Mr. Olayinka Olagbemiro and Hon. Aminu Kurfi, is expected to do a thorough job in arriving to the choice of a new head coach for Super Eagles.

Already, NFF President (Gusua) had on Tuesday, August 30, 2023 while  inaugurated the newly reconstituted NFF Technical and Development Committee charged the members to brace up for the challenge of composing new technical crews of the national teams and provide guidance and vision to the crews.

Firstly, the Committee should avoid the temptation of putting parochial interest above the overall national interest in the selection process by carefully going through the curriculum vitae of each person who applied for the top job to determine the best candidate based on his qualification, performance, career part and past achievements as a player and coach from the youth levels to the senior category.

Secondly, the Committee should avoid the mistakes of the past where the “Selection Committee” would settle for a less qualified foreign or local coaches with little or no international coaching experience and winning mentality.

 Luckily, the NFF has listed the criteria for anybody to coach the three-time African champions to include having the right qualifications, a winning mentality, elite experience, and a focus on Africa football.

This is where an indigenous coach Emmanuel Amuneke fits into the type of gaffer to manage the Super Eagles of 2024 going forward just as his records of performance both as a player and coach speak for themselves.

Why Amuneke?  The answer is not far fetched as remains the best man  for the vacant Super Eagles top job as he is one of the few Nigerian football coaches within and outside the country who possess High Coaching Credentials including the highly respected UEFA Masters Degree in Coaching Certificate; UEFA Pro License; UEFA ‘A’ Senior License Level 3; UEFA ‘B’ License Level 2 and UEFA ‘B’ License Level 1 amongst others.

In fact, Nigeria is blessed to have Amuneke who is a Member of  FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG) and Member, CAF Technical Study Group (TSG), duties he has been performing for the two world and continental football governing bodies for some years now. If he is a novice in the technical aspects of football he will not be given such assignments by FIFA and CAF.

Also, Amuneke has a rich coaching experience as he has coached Clubs and National Teams in his native country Nigeria and his adopted country Spain, Tanzania, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Zambia.

The former African Best  Footballer of the Year as player was an FC Barcelona of Spain winger and former Sporting Lisbon of Portugal forward as well as played for Zamalek FC of Egypt, FC Albacete in Spain, Busan IPark in South Korea,  Al-Wehdat, Jordan and Julius Berger FC Lagos, Nigeria.

Amuneke is an  AFCON trophy winner as a player; Olympic Games Gold Medallist and FIFA World Cup player and above all, FIFA U-17 World Cup Winner as an Assistant Coach and Head Coach as well as Mentor and coach of the reigning CAF Best Player of the Year, Victor Osimhen and his teammates, Kelechi Nwakali, Samuel Chukwueze and bulk of the present Super Eagles players who he coached at both U-17 and U-20 Golden Eaglets and Flying Eagles levels hence now is the best time for him to coach Super Eagles.

He commands the respect of the players especially Victor Osimhen who dedicated his 2023 CAF Player Of The Year Award to Emmanuel Amuneke, calling him his Mentor and Hero.

Finally, majority of Nigerian football followers in both social media and mainstream media are favourably disposed to seeing the NFF Technical and Development Committee give them Emmanuel Amuneke as the next Super Eagles head coach.

Should their expectations be met by the NFF by appointing an indigenous coach as head coach of Super Eagles, that will be the beginning of the organic national support for the three-time AFCON champions.

This is the way to go.